Back to School Night!

Normally, Mrs. Yollis' class looks like this.



Or this...




Last night, Mrs. Yollis' class looked like this!




and this....






At Back to School night, Mrs. Yollis talked to the parents about what the students would learn in third grade and how parents can help.

Each parent sat at their child's desk.

Mrs. Yollis enjoyed meeting her new students.
:-)


How did your parents like being in your class?

Did they mention your clean desk?

Lucky Hat Day!

This week, Mrs. Yollis' class read "The Lost and Found", a story
in our anthology by Mark Teague.

The story is about three friends who get lost in the Lost and Found bin! Their lucky hats brings them good luck at the end of the story.


* * * * *

For fun, we wore our lucky hats today!

Some lucky hats had brims.



Some lucky hats had bills or artificial flowers on them.



Some people added joker cards, stickers, and even bouncy balls!




Others added real flowers or lucky tassels!



Some lucky hats had striped or plaid brims...



One girl added giant glasses...



One person added candy and another person had a magic wand!


One student added a peacock feather! Now that's style!


Three cheers for the red, white, and blue! A very patriotic lucky hat!


Is a crown the luckiest hat? I wonder who won this odd/even math game...

We used the luck from our hats to help us make a perfect compass rose.

One student who was home, recovering from a cold, got in the spirit!
Muy bien, senior!

Even the teachers created lucky hats!

* * * * *

Which lucky hat did you like the best and why?

Did anything lucky happen to you because
you were wearing your lucky hat?

Visit the Arctic Circle!

By Mrs. Yollis

This summer, my husband and I embarked on an adventurous fishing trip to the Arctic Circle! The Arctic Circle is one of the five major lines of latitude and is approximately 66 1/2 ˚ north of the Equator.

We flew out of Los Angeles and after many hours, arrived in Kobuk, Alaska.

Kobuk, a small Native American village of 100 Inupiat Eskimos, is 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Many of the villagers practice a traditional subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering. In fact, many of the fish we caught were given to the villagers to freeze and use over the winter.

We were very close to Kobuk Valley National Park and Gates of the Arctic National Park.

Every spring and fall, the largest caribou herd in Alaska, the Western Arctic Caribou herd, migrates through this area. It would have been great to see them swim across the Kobuk River, but since it was summer, they were already north of where we were.

* * * * *

Our excellent river guide was named Alex, and he has lived in Kobuk his entire life. When Alex was a child, there were only three homes in Kobuk. Now there are over forty homes!

Alex had a lot of experience fishing, hunting, and trapping and was awarded the
Alaska Federation of Natives Hunter/Provider of the Year Award in 2006!
He knew all the best places to fish and shared many wonderful stories with us.

* * * * *

Part of the time, we were fly fishing for Arctic grayling, a type of trout. Fly fishing uses an artificial fly to attract the fish. The fly typically looks like an insect that the fish enjoy eating.


Below is a picture of us fly fishing. We are wearing special gear called waders which are water-proof and allow us to walk into the river.


We caught many Arctic grayling using our fly rods. The grayling has a red and purple dotted sail-like dorsal fin. We ate some of the fish and released the others.

Here is a photo of an Arctic grayling.


* * * * *

Alex loaned us some Arctic gear.
At times the mosquitoes were very thick, so I wore a mosquito net over my head!
It really worked!
How do you like my camouflage? :-)

Even though we were in the Arctic, the temperatures in the summer can be in the 80s! One day it was overcast and cooler, so I put on Alex's gear to stay warm.

* * * * *

We also used spinning rods to catch sheefish, a member of the white fish family. Sheefish are only found in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. They have a large mouth, large silver scales, and put up a fight when caught. They are very tasty!


* * * * *

Alaska is nicknamed "The Land of the Midnight Sun".
The Arctic Circle marks the southern most point of the polar day (24 hour sunlit day).
Below is a picture of me taken at midnight! Because we were so far north,
the summer sun never set!



I thought we would see lots of wildlife, but we didn't.
No eagles, no caribou, no bears.
However, we did see lots of moose!



Our adventure to the Arctic Circle was an amazing experience!

* * * * *

What adventures did you have over the summer?

Please tell about something fun you did!

Remember, sometimes the best adventures are had in your own backyard!

Meet Susan B. Anthony

Summer Edition ~ By Chloe

Do you know who worked all of her life for women’s rights?

If you guessed Susan B. Anthony, you are correct.

Susan was born on February 18, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. She learned to read before she was four years old. When she was young, she worked in her father’s cotton mill and earned three dollars in two weeks, which was less than a man made.

In her adulthood, she became head of the girl’s section in school. She joined a temperance group in 1849. The temperance movement was to outlaw liquor. She worked for the Underground Railroad. This group helped runaway slaves. In 1851, she met Amelia Blommer and Elizabeth Cady Stanton at an abolitionist meeting, and they became best friends forever. In 1852, she walked out of the Sons of Temperance because women were not allowed to speak. Then she started a temperance society for women and quit because they let men in. She collected signatures for women to have control of their own money. Also, she worked for suffrage. Suffrage is the right to vote. In 1861-1865, the Civil War took place. In 1895, she became president of the American Woman Suffrage.

Unfortunately, Susan died on March 13, 1906, and at that point, women were still not allowed to vote. In the 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote.

I know Susan B. Anthony is important because she fought for women’s equality, but still women have a long ways to go for total equality.

Here is a hyperlink to learn more about Susan B. Anthony.

Below is my video presentation of my sculpture.

What do you think about the work Susan B. Anthony did for women?

Do you fight for any causes?

Meet FDR

Summer Edition ~ By Lexi

Do you know who was the only four-term president?

If you guessed Franklin Delano Roosevelt, you are right! This interesting man was born in 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. As a child, he collected stamps, birds, and bird eggs. Franklin was an only child, and when he grew bored, he entertained himself by riding his horse. In his early life, Franklin attended Groton, an all boys’ school. There, he tried out for basketball, football, crew, boxing, and High Kick, but most of all he adored giving and attending speeches and debates. Debating is a discussion in which two sides state different points of view. He shared this skill with his cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt!

As a young adult, Franklin studied at Harvard College. He married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905 and became a lawyer. In 1910, he became a democratic state senator for New York, and then he was elected again in 1912. Soon after, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Franklin as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he held this position during World War I. Unfortunately, in 1921 he lost the use of his legs from a terrifying disease named polio. He was only 39 years old when he became ill, and it took a lot of strength and courage to gain back the use of his arms.

The next political position that Franklin Roosevelt held was governor of New York in 1928 and again in 1930. The Great Depression devastated the country while he was in office. During this time, he enjoyed his job so much that his dream was to become President of the United States.
On March 4, 1933, he accomplished that dream! While he was President, his main job was to fight the Depression. His famous quote, “the thing we have to fear is fear itself” inspired people with hope and courage. President Roosevelt passed bills to help farmers and people who were about to lose their homes. He was elected President again in 1936, which was during World War II. He created “fireside chats” to speak with Americans over the radio. These were talks he would have with the American people to tell them what he was doing to fight the Depression. In 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and President Roosevelt declared that the United States would enter the war.

Other than fighting the Depression, another success came while he was President for the fourth time. With his great friend, Winston Churchill from England, he established the United Nations. It was President Roosevelt’s dream to have countries work together for peace. This was another dream he achieved!

Sadly, on April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died while getting his portrait painted. Even though he died, we still honor him today. In my opinion, he made the world a better place.

Here is a hyperlink to FDR on The White House website.

Here is a video presentation of my sculpture.

What do you think of President Roosevelt?

What was his greatest achievement?

School's Out For Summer!

Yesterday, we had a big party to celebrate the end of the year!
Our fabulous room moms, Mrs. Yumkas and Mrs. Kumar, put together a great party complete with the perfect cake!

We have had over 2,400 visits from
63 different countries!

Comment Counters logged more than 500 comments!

Congratulations bloggers!

Goodbye to my third graders!

I know you'll do well in fourth grade!

With love,
Mrs. Yollis :-)

Fractional Flags!

As we looked at the Flag Counter in our sidebar, we were excited to discover that we have visitors from SIX of the SEVEN continents.

We had an excellent math/geography lesson using our visitor flags.


* * * * *

First, we wrote the names of the visiting countries on slips of paper.

Then we each picked a country name.

Next we went to the back of our dictionaries and looked for the flag so we could make one.

Mrs. Yollis told us that thinking about fractions can be helpful when making a flag.

We noticed that many flags were divided into third or fourths.

Bahrain is one third white and two thirds red.

Canada was tricky to draw because of the maple leaf, but half of the flag is white and half of the flag is red.

Italy's flag is divided into three equal parts. One third green, one third white, and one third red.


* * * * *

Below is the color key we used for the continents.

* * * * *

Here are some of the flags from our South American visitors.

Paraguay's flag is divided into thirds.

Brazil has the design in the center third of the solid flag.

Chile's flag is tricky. The bottom three sixths (or half) are red, two sixths are white, and one sixth is blue.

Argentina is divided into thirds. Two thirds are light blue and one third is white with a sun.



* * * * *


Below are some of the flags from Europe.


Poland's is half red and half white.

Czech Republic's is also half red and half white, but it has a blue triangle on the left.

Russian Federation's is one third red, one third blue, and one third is white

Portugal's is one third green and two thirds red.

Spain's flag is two fourths red and two fourths yellow. (In other words, half and half.)

Germany's is split into thirds. One horizontal third is black, one third is red, and one third is yellow.

Luxembourg's is also horizontal thirds, but one third is blue, one third is red, and one third is white.

France's flag is divided into vertical thirds. One third is blue, one third is white and one third is red.

* * * * *


Here are some of the flags from Africa.

Egypt is divided into thirds, and Morocco is solid red with a star in the center.


* * * * *

We have had visitors from MANY countries!

6 of our flags are from North America.
7 are from South America.
20 flags are from Europe.
5 are from Africa.
17 flags are from Asia.
2 of our flags are from Australia.

Thw WHOLE project was fun!

* * * * *

Here is the bulletin board we created!


Try this new interactive game: Guess the Flag!

What did you learn from the flag making experience?

Meet Andrew Carnegie

By Jonah

Do you know who created our first public libraries?

If you guessed Andrew Carnegie, you are correct. Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland.

Young Andy, as he was, called, moved to the United States with his family in Pittsburgh. A few years after the journey, Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. Around the age of twelve, Andrew got his first job as a telegraph messenger.

As an adult, Andrew Carnegie was promoted to a telegraph officer. With the money he made, Andrew was soon able to buy a house. Later, he quit his job to explore other types of work and joined a train company that built their trains with beds so that passengers could rest on long trips.

Later in his life, Andrew moved to New York and started the Carnegie Steel Company. He started the company when he learned that steel was much easier to use and get than iron. Carnegie began making a big profit.

Further, in his life, Carnegie started the system of public libraries because he thought people should be more educated. I think that Andrew Carnegie changed the world because if there were no libraries, I may have never checked out the biography that I used to give you all this wonderful information. In addition, Andrew Carnegie libraries gave everyone the opportunity to read, even if they could not afford to buy a book.

Here is a hyperlink to a time line of Carnegie's life.

Below is a video presentation of my sculpture.

See a Dumbo Rat and a Red-tailed Hawk

By Matthew and Alasia

On Monday, Wildlife Experience came with two very exciting animals.

First, came the red-tailed hawk.

When the red-tailed hawk is born, it has a brown tail until it is one year old. When the bird grows, its tail feathers turn a rusty red color, and that’s how it got its name.

Did you know that a hawk can see eight times better than our eyes? We can see the colors of the rainbow, but the red-tailed hawk can see in ultra-violet! That ability helps it see things that it wants to eat.

Next, the Dumbo rat came out of its cage.

The Dumbo rat got its name from its big ears. Did you know that rats can have 21 babies every 28 days? Rats usually lives up to 3 years, and they have a prehensile tail. That means a rat can use its tail to hang on.

If you’re looking for a good pet, you might want to try the rat. It only costs $3.00 at the pet store, and a rat is capable of eating human food. Just don’t give the rat chocolate or candy! If you feel lonely while you’re doing your homework, put the rat on your shoulder and you don’t have to worry about it falling off.

Do you have any new facts to add about the red-tailed hawk or the Dumbo rat?

How did you like the presentation?