Reading all alone,
We took our seats and eagerly awaited her arrival. Once we greeted her warmly, she settled in to share a classic holiday book, Merry UnChristmas, by Mike Reiss. We were very excited to hear he is also a writer for The Simpsons. It was an adorable story about a town where it is Christmas 364 days of the year! Can you imagine? Do you think that would get a little tiring? 
Calling all readers! The battle begins! This year, as third graders, we are able to compete in the Battle of the Books. This is a competition of third, fourth, and fifth grade readers who, after reading books from this list, are able to compete and attempt to earn a spot on the final battle team! There are books for everyone; books about ghosts, animals, sports, history...a variety of genres to choose from! The battle is in the distant future. For now we are gathering supplies and beginning to develop our battle skills. The good news is, we have already read one book from the list...The Earth Dragon Awakes! The bad news is...we currently only have one copy of each book, and with 53 friends in our classes, it will be difficult to prepare. We need your help! If you would like to donate books from the list to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it! It's time to start reading! 
In celebration of students meeting the Readers To Leaders reading goal for the first nine weeks, Mrs. Phillips allowed reading teachers to slime her this morning after Flag Raising! 92% of our students are on their way to reading one million words this year! For this particular celebration, all students were able to attend, however, for the next celebration only students meeting the goal will be invited. As third graders, having read at least 6 chapter books in the first nine weeks is expected in order to be on the right track. We are so proud of the efforts of our readers! Keep up the good work! Stay tuned for news about the next celebration!
