December 18, 2015

December 8, 2015

Holiday Party

We want this to be a fun time for the kids to celebrate, but we need a little help.  Click on this link to find the Sign-Up Genius to see what we need and to sign up for a donation or volunteer spot.  

December 7, 2015

We are counting down until our holiday break -- only two more weeks.  We will be doing quite a bit of academics during these two weeks, so it is very important for every student to be in school.

Address/Personal Information

We are learning how to using proper punctuation in addresses, and the third grade team feels that it is important for students to know their own personal information in case of an emergency.  If you have not gotten the study sheet from your student, please see the attached.  Students will be tested on this information on December 15.  One grade will be for Social Studies because we are studying communities.  This grade will be for accuracy of information only.  The other grade will be for Writing.  This grade will be for correct capitalization, punctuation, and format.

Holiday Party

We will be celebrating the end of our first semester with a holiday party on December 17.  We will have our party 9-10 AM and will serve breakfast foods.  Our homeroom mom, Andrea Allison, is planning some cool activities for the students, too.  If you would like to help with any of the activities, please let me know, and I will send her contact information to you.  I will be sending out a Sign-Up Genius for donations needed for the party.

Senior Choir Tour

Our Senior Choir will be going on their annual tour on December 9.  If you have not signed and returned your student's permission slip, please do so ASAP.

Dyslexia Information Night

If you would like more information regarding dyslexia, the district is providing an opportunity for parents to attend an information session.  They will be meeting on Monday, December 7 (tonight) from 6-7:30 PM at the Old Hopewell Building near Round Rock High School. Information will include how to help parents know how to help at home, and parents will have an opportunity to make and take activities. 

Literacy/Cultural Awareness Night

Forest Creek Elementary will be hosting a Literacy and Cultural Awareness Night this Thursday, December 10, 5:30-7:30 PM.  All grade levels have been working hard to present literature from different continents.  Please come and experience a wonderful night of literacy.

Picture Retakes

If you are not pleased with your student's pictures, they can be retaken on Thursday, December 10.  Please let me know if you need an order form.

Tutoring

This week and next, we will only have tutoring on Tuesday, not Thursday.  After the holiday break, we will begin tutoring starting on January 12.

Science Fair

Forest Creek's annual science fair is January 28.  It is optional for third graders to participate, but I highly encourage students to do so.  It is a great experience and will prepare them for next year when it will be required for them to participate.  Please see the attached packet and let me know if you have any questions.

November 13, 2015

Here is what is happening --

Library

Our library time has changed.  We will still go every other week on Tuesday (Tuesday, November 17 is our day).  We will go at 8:00 AM.  This will mean that we will need to turn in our library books on Monday afternoon before school is over.  Please make sure your student has their library books here on Monday.

Spirit Wear

Our class won the spirit stick again last week.  Wear your school colors on Monday so we can try again!

Report Cards

If you have not returned a signed copy of your student's report card in the envelope, please do so as soon as possible.

Thanksgiving Meal

The Thanksgiving Meal will be on Thursday, November 19.  If you did sign up to eat lunch in the cafeteria, please bring exact change to pay for your lunch.  If you did not sign up to come, you can still eat lunch with your child.  Just bring your own lunch.

Groovy O-Rama

Third grade will perform on Friday, November 20 at 9:25 AM.  Get here early to have a great seat.  The kids have been working hard on this.  It will be a performance to remember!!!

PTA News

Direct donation drive 

100% back to our kids!   100% tax deductible!   100% NO catalog sales!

 

DONATE INSTANTLY CLICK HERE!!-its not too late!

We raised almost $14,000!! 

A HUGE Thank you to all the FCE families that donated!

 

CONGRATS!! Our kids have WON a pajama day by reaching $11,000 and have met our yearly budgeted goal!!

December 2, 2015, early release day is PJ Day for all FCE kids!!

 

FCE Families - 

This is the time of year we are able to give back to our community and show our support. FCE will be assisting multiple families to supply them with a Thanksgiving day meal.  Please review the sign up list.  Your contribution to this is greatly appreciated.

We're using VolunteerSpot to organize our upcoming Sign-ups.

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: CLICK HERE

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Thank you all very much for your support,

Brandy Leslie

512-773-8901

bnposton@yahoo.com

FCE Parents,

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  It is a tradition at FCE to give all Teachers and Staff a pie to share with their Family during the Thanksgiving holiday.  This is a fun way to show our appreciation for all they do for our kids.  They look forward to this each year!  Please click here for details and to sign up.

Thank you for your continued support.

Stephanie DohertyPTA Teacher Appreciation Chair

the4dohertys@gmail.com

Note from Mrs. Miller -- We have a lot of wonderful staff who do not have a class of their own.  They provide a lot of support to our students and our teachers.  If you would like to donate a pie to one of them, please click on the link above and sign up.  If you don't know what kind of pie to give them, let me know and I can help you find out.  Thank you for your generosity!!!

 Reflections

 

 

 

Forest Creek Elementary PTA’s

Reflections 2015-2016

GALLERY NIGHT

Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 6:30 p.m.

Forest Creek Elementary Cafeteria

All of the entries will be displayed with their awards!

Refreshments will be served.

All Forest Creek Elementary families are invited to attend, even if your student did not enter Reflections this year- Come and celebrate with your classmates!

Family Fun Day at Barnes and Noble

October 8, 2015

News from the Nurse

This link is a  notice from our nurse regarding Strep Throat.  Please do what you need to do to keep your children healthy!  Also, there was a sheet sent home today in purple folders regarding the flu vaccine.  Please read carefully.  If you want your child to participate, you will need to give consent using the form that was attached to the sheet.  I do not have this one electronically.

News from the PTA

The link will lead you to the flyer regarding the Direct Donation Drive.  This is a great program.  You can just donate some money to the PTA and not have to ask your family and friends to buy things from a catalog.  Look at the flyer and then decide is you can donate.

Reflections

This is a great way for your student to show their artistic abilities.  This link will have the flyer that tells about Reflections, the category description flyer, and the student entry form.

Science Explorations

Thank you to all who signed up for donating items for this activity.  We will need all items by October 13.  This is going to be a fun way to wrap up this unit!

District Common Assessments and Grade Level Assessments

This year, RRISD has implemented District Common Assessments (DCA).  They are small tests for each unit in Math, Reading, Writing, and Science.  They usually consist of 4-6 questions.  As teachers, we have decided to add questions to the DCA in order to take an assessment grade.  We can only send home the questions that the 3rd grade teachers put together.  We have been told by the district that we can not send home the DCA questions.  As a parent, you can come to the classroom and review your student's DCA results.  Just let me know when you would like to come.

Picture Day

Picture Day is Thursday, October 29.  Have your child bring their best smile!

Fall Goal Setting Conference

If you have not signed up for a conference, please do so as soon as possible.  If none of the available slots work for your schedule, let me know and we can find a time that will work.

Tutoring

I am tutoring a couple of students on Tuesday and Thursday.  If you feel that your student needs some extra help on something, please let me know what that concept is and when he/she can stay after school.  We usually work until 3:45 or 4.  If I feel that your child would benefit from staying, I will contact you individually.

September 24, 2015

Progress Reports

Progress reports went home today.  Please look in your child's purple folder for their report and their finished/graded work.  Please encourage your child to do their best on everything that we are trying to learn.  If your child has missing/incomplete work, we are working hard to get that done.  These grades are not reflected in the average that is on the progress report.  They did not count against the grade or for the grade.  I just wanted you to be aware that there may be some assignments that we are still working on.

Chrome Books

We have been learning a lot about how to use Google Chrome and Google Classroom.  The students did complete a graded assignment using Google Classroom.  You can visit our Google Classroom by downloading the app from the Google store (free).  Your student can log in to Google Chrome using their school email address and password.  It is their student number with an s in front and @student.roundrockisd.org.  Their password is their birthdate.

Example

username -  s123456@student.roundrockisd.org

password - 01021977

Book Fair

Our class will preview the book fair Friday morning.  Purchases can be made any time next week.

September 9, 2015

Grandparents' Day

We are excited to welcome grandparents to FCE on Friday, September 11 to celebrate Grandparent's Day!  Please RSVP by clicking this link so that we may have your badge printed in advance.  If you or a grandparent has not visited our school before, you will still need to provide our front office with a picture ID.

August 28, 2015

Hello, everyone!!

It has been a great week in 3^rd grade.  We have reviewed all of our procedures and school expectations.  Your students have been doing a great job!!  We have also started reading chapter books, writing stories, and doing some multiplication.  I hope you have been hearing all about everything that we have been learning.

Mondays are Spirit Day.  Students are encouraged to wear their Forest Creek shirts.  If your child does not have a Forest Creek shirt, any purple or green shirt will work.  If you would like to purchase a Forest Creek shirt, the PTA sells them and there was an order form in the Thursday folder this week.  The class with the highest percentage of people wearing purple or green will be awarded the spirit stick for a whole week!!!

Fridays are College Day.  Students are encouraged to wear a shirt from their favorite college/university.

Note:  Both days are optional and students are not required to participate.

If you have not had a chance to fill out the Third Grade Student Information 2015-16 Google form, please go to my website and click on the link.  It is very important that I have up-to-date contact information.  There is also a place on the form where you can tell me anything about your child that is important to their learning process.  This is also the place where you can let me know how you would like to volunteer for our class.  The URL address for my website is http://millerfce.blogspot.com/.  The link for the Google form is at the top of the right column. 

Several people have signed up to volunteer, and I really appreciate your offer to help.  We are still in need of a homeroom parent.  If you would like to volunteer, please let me know soon.  Mrs. Lehnick will provide a short training session for all homeroom parents.

Our Library Day is every other Tuesday.  I had it wrong on the homework for this week.  We went to the library on the first day of school.  We will go again on September 8, 2015.

A new homework packet has been sent home today.  It is due on Friday, September 4, 2015.  If you or your student has a question regarding homework, please have your student ask me about it.

Please encourage your student to stop by the bathroom on the way to the classroom when they get to school.   I remind them, but if you could help me by reminding them in the morning that would be great!

I hope you have a great weekend.  Thank you for allowing me to spend my day with your children!!

Kim Miller
Miller’s Mon-STARS
kim_miller1@roundrockisd.org
512-464-5442  

Miller's Mon-STARS

Welcome to 3rd grade!!  I am so excited to be starting a new year.  I know we are going to have a lot of fun and learn a lot of cool stuff!

June 5, 2015

We have had a great year in 3rd grade.  Have a great summer!!  I WILL see you next year in the hallways!

May 11, 2015

Rising Star

We have several students from our class who will be published in the Rising Star book. Your student will have a letter today that explains what is going to happen.  They will be recognized on Thursday, May 21 at 6:00 PM in the library.  They will be able to present their work and tell a little about it.  If your student is being published, it would be great for them to be there.

Spring Conferences

Your student has a conference sign-up sheet in their blue folder.  Please choose a time that will best meet your family's schedule and return the form to me.  If none of the times are good, please let me know and we can work something out.  It is important for your student to be present because he/she will be leading the conference.

Field Day

May 29 is our Annual Field Day.  If you would like to volunteer, please contact the coaches.  They work hard to put this together for our students, but need a lot of help.

May 8, 2015

Field Trip

Our field trip to Inner Space Caverns is May 19.  We are all very excited about the trip.

Spring Conferences

For the spring conferences, we will have group conferences.  It is very different than the fall conferences.  I will send home conference forms for families to review before the conference.  On the evening of the conferences, there will be several families in the classroom at one time.  There will be 30 minute time slots for families to come.  The student will conduct their conference and show their family some things that they have done this year.  We have been working very hard to complete our PowerPoint presentations for the conferences, too.  I will be in the classroom and will be available for questions/comments from each family, but the student will be the lead on the conference.  If you would like to meet with me individually, that is an option, too.  If you are unable to attend a conference, we can talk over the phone, also.  It is a lot of fun for the students to have the chance to brag on themselves and their work.

I will send out a sign up sheet next week.  I plan to hold conferences on Monday, May 18, and Thursday May 21.  There will be time slots in 30 minute increments from 3:00 - 6:00.

Home Access Center/Teacher Access Center

These programs have changed a little.  A big change is grade history.  If I change a student's grade, I can view a history of the grades that have been entered in the past and the date it was entered.  I don't believe that you can see this as a parent, so I will continue to make comments on grades that I change.

Classroom Blog

Check out the pictures.  We have had a lot of fun working with gravity, force, and motion.  We made roller coasters and did a "Sheep in a Jeep" exploration using ramps, jeeps, and "sheep."  The kids had a lot of fun and learned a lot about these concepts.

April 20, 2015

STAAR Testing

Forest Creek is administering STAAR tests Monday-Thursday this week.  Third grade will be taking tests on Tuesday (Math) and Wednesday (Reading), but other grade levels will be testing on the other two days.  Visitors will have limited access to the building.  If your child forgets something at home, please feel free to drop it off in the office.  The office will make sure it gets to the classroom. If you need to visit for any other reason, administration asks that you post-pone that visit to Friday or next week.  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Please send in a water bottle, snack, light jacket, and chapter books with your child for testing days.  If your child does not have chapter books or library books, he/she may borrow books from the classroom library.  I have attached the Power Point that we watched as a class to help the students know what to expect.  Feel free to view it and talk with your child about it.  

The cafeteria is providing free breakfast for all students this week because of testing.  Breakfast is served 7:15 AM - 7:45 AM.

Homework

There is no homework this week because of testing.  I encourage all students to read this week, especially if this is a relaxing activity for them.  There will be no spelling test this week.  A new list will be given on Friday with the homework packet for next week.

Field Trip -- Inner Space Caverns

Students were given a hard copy of the permission form for the field trip.  An electronic copy is attached.  Please fill out both sides of the form and return it to school before May 1.  If you would like to volunteer, please let me know.  You will need to fill out the volunteer form for RRISD.  We welcome all parents to participate.  The cost for parents is on the permission form.

Earth Day Activities

Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day.  Here are the activities for Forest Creek for the rest of this week --

Tuesday is the 3R’s (REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE) Bring empty juice pouches and place them into our recyclable bin in the cafeteria and keep it out of the earth’s landfills.

Wednesday is Wear Green! And let us know how you will help the earth. Fill out the small green card located in an envelope on the Go Green bulletin board located near the office and post it onto the bulletin board.

Thursday is Turn it off day! You can do this by turning off the water while brushing your teeth, turn off your computer, room lights and fans when you are not using them and walk instead of drive when you can.

Friday is the Go Green Plant sale during lunch and after school. All plants will cost 50 cents!

Progress Reports

Progress Reports will go home on Thursday, April 30.  Check Home Access for your student's grade and let me know if you have any questions.

March 24, 2015

Rising Star Book

Now is the time for your students to shine and get published in our Rising Star Book.

Each grade can submit about 3 or 4 pieces from each category.

Poetry

Narrative

Expository

Art

The children can work on the pieces at home or at school.  They can enter as many times as they'd like.  They can enter a piece already created this school year or a new piece. Students will need to submit their pieces to their teacher by May 1.  Grade-level teachers will decide which pieces will go into the book.

The children are so excited and proud to have their work published.  It means a lot to them and really encourages them to see themselves as writers and artists.  Please encourage your student to submit their work for consideration.

We will have Rising Star Night on Thursday, May 21.

March 23, 2015

Welcome back from Spring Break!  I hope everyone was able to enjoy the time off from school.  Here is some news from the PTA --

Last Chance to Buy Carnival Tickets at Pre-Sale Prices!

Skip the lines Friday Night and buy your tickets, wristbands and raffle tickets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after school from 2:45-3:15. Online sales will continue until Wednesday at midnight.  Visit our website at PTA Website to place your order.

Orange paper orders forms must be turned into teachers by Wednesday.  No orders will be filled after the Wednesday deadline.  Tickets will be 50 cents at the door.  Wristband prices will go up to $25 at the door, and raffle tickets will be $1 each.  Next chance to buy will be when the Carnival begins Friday at 5:00!  

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!  We only have 50% of our needed volunteers!  We cannot make this event successful without your help!  Please consider giving just an hour of your time on Friday.  Each volunteer receives a drink and food ticket for their service.  Click here for the link to sign up.  THANK YOU for your time and dedication to FCE!!

We are in need of baked items for our bake sale at the carnival this Friday.  If you are able to contribute, please bring individually wrapped items to the stage Friday afternoon. If you are unable to wrap them yourself, please don't let that deter you. We will have some supplies to wrap items, if needed.  If you can bring gluten/dairy/nut free items, please mark those as such.

Thanks so much and we will see you Friday at the Beach Party Carnival from 5 to 9pm!

March 13, 2015

PTA Request:  We need YOUR Help -- FCE Spring Carnival

FCE Parents,

Spring Break fever is on the brain right now, we can relate!  But we need to remind you that we need YOUR help in making this year’s Carnival a BIG success!  We are only 40% full right now and the event is the Friday after the Break!  Please consider giving just an hour of your time that night, Friday, March 27^th.  Click here for the sign-up link.

And be sure to buy your writstbands and/or tickets online as well to beat the long lines that night.  Click here for the link.

THANK YOU for your time and dedication to FCE!!!
We couldn’t do this without your help!

Stephanie Doherty
PTA Volunteer Coordinator

          the4dohertys@gmail.com

March 10, 2015

Here is what is happening in 3rd grade and at Forest Creek.

Class Basket for the Carnival

Our class is doing a "Chocolate Lover's" themed basket for the silent auction at the Spring Carnival.  One of our moms has graciously offered to help put the basket together for our class.  She is offering to accept cash donations so that she can purchase items to go into our basket.  She would like enough money to include chocolate treats as well as a fondue pot.  If you would prefer to send in chocolate treats to go into the basket, that would be great, too.  Send any donations to the classroom as soon as you can, and I will make sure they are forwarded to her.  Thank you in advance for helping our class with this fun project!!

Spring Carnival

The annual spring carnival is Friday, March 27.  You can purchase advanced tickets/wrist bands from the PTA.  Here is a link to the PTA's website PTA.

Early Release

Wednesday, March 11, 2015, will be early release.  Students will be released at 12:45 PM.  Kona Ice will at school at 1:15 PM.

Curriculum Based Assessment (Benchmark)

The scores for the spring CBA are in Home Access.  These tests are not part of the grades for our report cards, but do give me good information about what we need to reveiw before STAAR.  I am already forming activities so that we can enhance those skills in our students.

Library

Our class won the Shelf Elf award from the library for good library manners.  Way to go Mon-STARS!!!!

 

Have a great week and spring break!!!

March 5, 2015

PTA News

Teachers and Parents,

The Forest Creek Spring Carnival is coming soon on Friday, March 27^th.  We have many fun and new additions this year, as well as some old favorites, and we need YOUR HELP in making this year’s Carnival the HUGE success that it remains to be for us each year!  Please click here to sign-up!  And don’t forget to pre-order your tickets to the Carnival as well.  You can order online with the simple click of a button right here!

Hope to see you there!

Stephanie Doherty
Forest Creek Elementary
Volunteer Coordinator

March 2, 2015

National School Breakfast Week

This is National School Breakfast Week.  Breakfast is not free, but we will be encouraging students to eat breakfast at school and there will be some special activities in the mornings so you may have more students than usual eating breakfast.  Breakfast is served from 7:15-7:30 a.m.  Students are dismissed from the cafeteria by 7:40 a.m.

Walk/Bike to School Day is Tuesday, March 3.

UIL Competitions

The 1^st Round Rock ISD Elementary UIL Competition will be held at Walsh Middle School from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Everyone is welcomed.  Good luck to our participating teams of students and their coaches.

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday, March 8, 2015 – remember to spring forward so you won’t be late on Monday.

Student Code of Conduct Art Contest

All entries are due Thursday, March 12th bundled with campus name and labeled with name of contact person.  (FCE contact will be Pam Arnold.) Each student entry should be labeled on the back with the campus name and student ID.

Celebration of Families

State and Federal Programs, Athletics and Community Relations are excited to welcome parents and students to the “new look” of Celebration of Families April 18 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM at Round Rock High School.

COF has a strong tradition as a family resources fair that provides valuable sessions for parents and students to build strong relationships between educators and households.

This year, we are including a Wellness Fair and 5K to our programming. This has allowed us to market to a wider net of parents, as well as to financially support initiatives at the elementary middle, and high schools. The 5K is sponsored by Project Graduation, which will support the celebrations at all five high schools by collecting race registration fees.

For elementary and middle schools, we are hosting a special contest for the chance to win cash prizes for wellness equipment/programming at your school. The contest includes a weighted rubric to judge campuses at the event in the areas of: attendance (weighted for campus size), spirit (school shirts, colors, charisma during Wellness Fair), and participation (active participation in events/programs at COF). Our judging team, comprised solely of non-campus affiliated staff, will award two prizes to elementary and two to middle schools. First prize will be $1,000 and second prize $500 to be used on a wellness initiative of the campus’ choosing. We hope to offer more prizes, but this is contingent upon more sponsors for the event.

The Wellness Fair will include a fun run for kids, as well as other activities and vendors to promote wellness programs across the community.

For more information on Celebration of Families and the Wellness Fair, please visit

Celebration of Families link and Wellness Fair Link. 

March 2, 2015

Dear Parents,

Please take a few minutes to participate in the 2015 Parent Climate Survey today.  Our goal is to achieve 75% completion and we currently have 4%. Each day staff, students and volunteers at Forest Creek Elementary work hard to ensure academic programs and the campus environment meet the needs of all children. This anonymous survey will help us to better understand our successes and ways in which we can improve.

You are a critical part of our success!

English Parent Climate Survey

Spanish Parent Climate Survey

Thank you for your support.

February 24, 2015

Welcome to our new class blog for Miller's Mon-STARS!

I am very excited about starting our new blog, and I hope you will visit often to stay up to day with what is happening in our classroom.

We are going to be taking our Curriculum Based Assessment on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Students are encouraged to do their best and to not stress over these assessments.

We are studying some great things this week --

Language Arts
We have started our Traditional Literature unit with fairy tales and will continue with fables.  We will begin writing a story next week in the form of a fable.  We will also study myths, legends, and tall tales.

Math
We have started our unit on capacity.  We have learned about customary units and will learn about the metric units of capacity.  We created a "Capacity Caped Crusader" to help the students see the relationships between the different measures.  It was a lot of fun!

Science
We are finished up our study of food chains and will soon begin our unit on life cycles.  Each student will make a habitat for observation of live ladybugs!  We will observe the ladybugs for several days.

PTA News
If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to fill out the PTA survey regarding funds that have not been allocated in the budget.  Your input on how these funds are used is very important to the PTA.

Here is the link to the survey --

PTA Survey

Parent Climate Survey

Each day staff, students and volunteers at Forest Creek Elementary work hard to ensure academic programs and the campus environment meet the needs of all children.

You are a critical part of our success! The survey will only be available for a short time, please participate today.

Here is the link --

Parent Climate Survey

Thanks for visiting our blog!!