May 15, 2026
Wow! What a week! I love when the chicks hatch and the butterflies emerge, but it is exhausting! We ended up hatching 14 chicks. The last one is a bit handicapped, but doing better this evening. Mrs. Poole has taken the chicks home for me for the weekend to give me a break. She also gave our last baby a bath, and he has fluffed up all ready. They will be with us until Wednesday. The Loewes and the Buckos went outside this afternoon to release the butterflies and ladybugs. Hopefully some will return to Mary’s garden to lay their eggs.
This next week will be even busier. I had the students write everything down for the coming week in their assignment book. Monday - Students start bringing in their white t-shirts, spelling test, and talent show at 1:30. Tuesday - We head to the ballpark and enjoy our all-school field trip. It is also the Unit 12 vocabulary test. Wednesday - We decorate our white shirts for field day - Bucko Bombs!!! Thursday - We participate in field day all morning. Friday - We enjoy a hot dog lunch. There is a special activity with the Loewes afterwards. We dismiss at 1:45 for the holiday weekend.
There is only 1 student left to complete their iReady diagnostic. Right after lunch we updated our iReady folders to show growth. It was exciting to see how many students met their growth goal - or surpassed it. I believe the results will go home with students on June 3 with the report card. Students will bring home their folders to show you some time next week.
Ribbon Mass was beautiful. I love all the May traditions that are celebrated at SCA. The eighth graders were my first family at SCA. They will be missed.
Many families are receiving recommendations to attend summer school. I think it is good for all students to participate in something that keeps skills sharp over the summer. I will be offering my annual math club. You will be receiving an email from me regarding the 4 sessions that I will be offering before the summer school session. That email will be sent out on Monday, May 18.
Tuesday evening at 7 PM there is another opportunity to participate in the Living Rosary. Come be a bead of the rosary and join parishioners in prayer.
A big thank you to all the families that contributed to the beautiful teacher’s appreciation week basket that I received last week! It was so generous of you! I felt very blessed!
There are only 12 school days left together. Here’s to an amazing week!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
May 9, 2026
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to the wonderful moms in our classroom. Thank you for your endless love, support, and dedication to nurturing your children. Your partnership in education is invaluable, and I hope you have a relaxing day filled with joy and appreciation for all you do.
Your children will also become mothers this week. Our chicks will be hatching when we return on Monday. Most of them will only be making a small crack with their egg tooth, but by Wednesday we should have completed our hatch. Our ladybugs started emerging from the pupae. Our chrysalis are hanging in the butterfly house. They’ll probably emerge at the same time as the chicks. We still are awaiting more mealworms to move to the next stage of development. The test for the butterfly vocabulary will be on Tuesday.
Students are loving the geometry chapter. I’m glad that they are having fun learning so many new things. Every morning we complete a round of Xtra math. I remember back in September when so many were having trouble with basic facts. It is inspiring to see so many make such growth.
Two thirds of the room completed the iReady reading diagnostic. Don’t be surprised if your child did not do as well as the goal that was set. We have many students who race through reading passages and don’t go back to reread information to make sure that they have chosen the correct answer. It is so important to take time to read information 2, possibly 3 times in order to really understand what has been read.
We’ll start the math diagnostic on Tuesday. I’m really hoping that students can show how much improvement they have accomplished this year. When both diagnostics are complete, students will conference with you to share their scores.
We will be reading from the Storyworks3 magazine next week. We will also be reading from short texts and books on epic. The theme of most of our stories is flight. Students have been reading each others’ stories the last several days. The stories will go to the final judges once I receive the last entries tomorrow.
The feast day of Our Lady of Fatima is next Wednesday, May 13. Students will learn about this amazing appearance of Mary and after watching a short video, we will create a craft to celebrate this event.
This seems to be the last week without so many interruptions. I hope to cover a lot. We will have a spelling list this week. Our vocabulary Unit 12 test will be on Wednesday. We are still working on subjects and predicates in grammar.
We celebrate ribbon Mass on Friday. There is not an all-school Mass on Wednesday. In religion we will focus on the parts of the Mass.
Again, Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
April 25, 2026
Have you been listening to the chatter about our new critter classmates? We had our first mealworm go into the pupa stage. Our butterfly larvae have tripled in size. Our eggs are resting quietly in our incubator. Our ladybug larvae are moving around ladybug land. (They are black with yellow stripes!) We haven’t noticed any changes in our praying mantis egg case.
We started working on our new science vocabulary. There are 24 new words - just for our butterfly unit. The kids will bring home their butterfly game to play with you this week. Right now there are a lot of observations going on. In May we will be testing on the new vocabulary and life cycle information that we have covered so far in April.
We will complete the reading of James and the Giant Peach on Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday we will work on activities and assessments on the novel. I hope that we will be able to watch the movie at the end of the week.
Thank you for your donations in support of 100 Club of Chicago. The students who have family members that are first responders were really proud to wear their shirts in support of the CFD. Of course they enjoyed the ice cream treat, too!
The spelling test will be on Monday from this last week’s list. The practice page is in their white folder that they brought home so that you can give them a practice test before they come on Monday. Students did really well again on the Unit 11 vocabulary test. Unit 12 is a short one. We will complete the unit on Friday - test the following week. We are working on subjects and predicates in grammar.
In math we wrap up the perimeter chapter on Monday. The test will be on Thursday or Friday. We will start covering geometry. During morning work students will review third grade concepts before we take the last iReady diagnostic.
The reading section of the iReady diagnostic will start the week of May 4. I am so excited for students to see the amazing growth that they’ve gone through this year.
In the morning when we do Xtra math, there are no more red scores, only a few yellow - almost all green!!! The number of consecutive problems correct keeps growing. Students who struggled at the beginning of the year are confident. It makes my heart happy knowing that the majority of the class will go to fourth grade being proficient in fact fluency.
Thank you for helping proofread stories. I have asked students to complete their story by Thursday, get your seal of approval, and show me on Friday so that I can get it printed. Over half the class has already submitted their story. They are hanging up in our classroom. I will be bringing the stories to my judges next weekend. Mrs. Loewe and I will be setting a day for our annual Authors Tea. It is a celebration with both third grades. Their books will be on display and awards will be given in different categories.
We end the week with the start of May. On May 1 we will crown Mary in our classroom. We will be creating beautiful art to honor our mother. Students will participate in a prayer service. We will offer up our classroom prayers with a daily “Hail Mary”. Students will also learn about the stories of when Mary appeared on Earth and shared a message. Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, etc. will be part of our religious focus. This is one of my favorite times of the year.
Our days will be packed with learning. I hope that they are filled with curiosity, growth, and joy! Have a great week!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
April 18, 2026
What a week back!!! We met our mealworms on Tuesday. We’ve named and observed them. The praying mantis egg case was delivered today. Everyone got to hold it before I put it in its habitat. Ask your child about what they’ve learned so far. You’ll be impressed by what they know within the next two weeks. The butterfly and ladybug larvae should be delivered at the beginning of the week. We pick up the fertilized eggs from the farmer on Tuesday. Everything is set up for their arrival.
National Poetry Month is in April. We’ve already had a few “poetry breaks” from staff and teachers. The fifth graders have been working on their poetry unit. We’ve had 2-4 students from fifth grade visit us each day. We will start writing different types of poetry next week. I already have 5 staff members ready to read to our class next week.
Our young author stories are in full swing. Please sign your child’s assignment book when you have helped proofread the story. I will print them up when I see your signature. Mrs. Loewe and I are scheduling our Young Authors Tea later in May.
We have our “See How Much We’ve Grown” iReady incentive hanging in the hallway. Third and fourth graders have cactus that move up the wall when they complete lessons. We want to see improvement - be proud of what we’ve accomplished!!! A majority of the class has completed lessons in third grade - in both reading and math. We even have a few students who have completed fourth grade lessons!!! There is ⅓ of the room that exceeds the weekly goal almost every week. The last diagnostic will be scheduled in May.
James and the Giant Peach has held our attention. We’ve read up to chapter 19. The peach is finally on the move. We will continue to cover several chapters every 2 days and then do vocabulary, skills, and comprehension pages from our packet.
I have to correct our math test. Tests will be passed back on Monday. We start unit 11 on perimeter next week. We will also review area.
I restarted Xtra math on Wednesday. We had amazing beginning scores!!! I also assigned prodigy review assignments and math fact practice. I will be assigning Xtra math practice every night for homework until students finish all four levels.
Our vocabulary test is scheduled for Wednesday. We are continuing work on comparative and superlative adjectives. Late in the week we will move to subjects and predicates. We take our spelling test on Monday.
We have been practicing states and capitals in social studies. Most of our block will be spent on science these next few weeks.
Wednesday is Earth Day! We will be having an adjustment to our normal routine. We will be reading Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg. We will also be completing a special earth day craft.
Our homebound cards were delivered today. We stretched out our kind deeds from lent. We almost made it across the section of the parking lot!!!
We’ve had such positive moments this week. Unfortunately we’ve also had warnings about the negative behaviors. Mr. O’Keefe had to speak with both third grades about their behavior during lunch. More than half of the class was not following the rules. We also missed out on fun Friday activities because of talking and not following directions throughout the week in our classroom.
This is my favorite time of the year. Everything is new and exciting. I want the last weeks of school to be positive and productive. I hope we’ll have more sunshine this week so that we can be outside for recess.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
April 10, 2026
There are only a few days left of our Easter break. I hope it has been enjoyable for you and your family.
We are jumping right into Monday morning with our new literature unit. We are reading James and the Giant Peach. Every two days we will be reading a section of chapters and then working on vocabulary, comprehension, and skills. There will be read alouds posted on google classroom. If your child is home sick - make sure that they keep up with the reading. This unit will last almost three weeks. It is the perfect chapter book for this month, because we will also be starting our new science unit.
Science will be talked about a lot at home during this next unit. We start our life cycle unit with mealworms. Our new friends will be coming to school on Monday. Students will create an environment for them. Daily we will be making observations and recording them in our journals. The other critters will arrive the following week. We will be studying mealworms, butterflies, ladybugs, praying mantises, and chicks this spring.
We completed the Unit 9 math chapter before break. We will be reviewing the material Monday through Wednesday. The assessment will be on Thursday. I will be restarting everyone in Xtra math. Students need to be proficient in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in order to move on to fourth grade.
In vocabulary we will be working on Unit 11. In grammar we will be working on comparative and superlative adjectives. Our spelling words will be words with closed syllables. In cursive we will be working on forming words.
Story writing will be a regular part of our afternoons for the next two weeks. Students will work on their story that they will submit for the Young Author judging. Many students want to write a chapter book. I instructed them that it doesn’t have to be long. It just needs a good beginning, middle, and end. I will review that with them on Monday. They can work on their story at home, too.
In religion we will be talking about parts of the Mass. We will also be making cards for our homebound parishioners. We never got a chance on Holy Thursday to go outside and measure our kind deed chain (It was raining!) We will go out on Monday. We have an assembly on Thursday - Roots of Resilience. I have not seen this presentation before. Our class is looking forward to going.
Make sure that your child comes well rested. We are going to be busy!!! Have a great week!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
March 28, 2026
We enter into holy week tomorrow. There are so many opportunities to be part of this week’s journey toward Easter. I hope that you can fit time in with your family to experience something. As a school we will have Mass on Wednesday and a prayer service on Thursday morning. Holy Thursday is one of my favorite days of the year - celebrating the Last Supper and Jesus teaching his disciples to serve others. I can still picture my own children serving Mass and respectfully washing feet. My father-in-law will be laid to rest at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery on Friday. How fitting that it is on Good Friday. Your children have been sharing their excitement of plans for the break. Remember that we have a 1:45 dismissal on Thursday to start our Easter break.
The spelling test will be on Tuesday. We continue to work on conjunctions in grammar and unit 11 in vocabulary. Unit 10 vocabulary tests came home in the white folders on Friday - great scores! We’ve been working on forming capital letters in cursive.
The division chapter in math has been fun! Students are reinforcing their multiplication fact knowledge. There are a handful of students who still don’t know their multiplication facts with speed and accuracy. That is so important for them moving on to fourth grade. The fraction center slide deck was due Friday. Equivalent fractions will continue to be part of review when we come back after break. We have measurement, perimeter, and geometry after this chapter.
We finished reading one of my favorite books on Friday - Stone Fox. I have read the book over 30 times, and I still get teared up. It is such a beautiful story. It is a 1-2 day read for adults if you’d like to read it over break. Students brought home their packet and book on Friday. We don’t normally have homework on the weekend, but I had them take it home to look over. We will be having a test on the book on Monday. This week we will be reading from our Storyworks3 magazine.
Trinity Christian College normally hosts the Young Author Conference. Because they will be closing their doors in May, we will not be sending authors from third grade to their conference this year. Mrs. Loewe and I will still be recognizing the authors from our grade with our annual Authors Tea in May. In order for that to happen, we will be kicking off our story writing unit on Monday. Students will work on writing their own original story. I will explain the guidelines on Monday. I will be giving time in class after lunch to work on this story. Many students already have ideas of what they want to write. I know several will want to work on it over break. I will be asking that you help proofread the final drafts before they submit them later in April.
Looking ahead … Hands-on labs will be starting up again in science when we return from break. April and May are always exciting months in third grade. Inventions/inventors, states/capitals, and government will be part of our social studies.
We will bring our kindness chain outside on Thursday to measure all the kind deeds that we performed since Ash Wednesday. I hope that you are seeing more of that at home. We will be reviewing our lenten promises and see how we did. Please sign your child’s kind deed cross page. Students will turn them in on Wednesday. This is part of the religion grade. We normally make lunches for the homeless this week, but we will be doing that later in April.
I’m excited for the sunshine this weekend. I hope that it gives us all a little boost. Have a great holy week!!!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
March 20, 2026
The sunshine is here!!! What a great way to bring in spring! Recess was extra fun today.
All our hard work memorizing our multiplication and division facts has really paid off. This math chapter has been a confidence booster! We spent time on multiplication and division fact families with 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10. This coming week we will divide with 3, 6, 4, 8, 9, and 7. We have been reviewing division math games on arcademic skill builders to keep skills sharp. In prodigy I assigned division facts as part of the practice. We will also be reviewing fractions. I assigned a slide deck on google classroom that we will work on when we finish early from other assignments.
We celebrated 2 amazing saints this past week - St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Our St. Patrick reports are hanging in our room, and we decorated our door with guided drawings of St. Joseph. We continue to work on kind deeds. If your child has filled in all of their crosses, I need a signature that you have seen them complete these tasks. Our kindness chain is hanging around our room. We are about ⅓ of the way around. Students will get a new prayer partner this week. We will also be celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation on Wednesday.
We finally got to sit down with the Loewes and share our presidential posters. I hope that everyone learned something new. One of the things Mrs. Loewe and I had to reinforce many times today - when you research anything, you need to know what you are writing down. My message since the beginning of the year, “If you can’t pronounce it - or don’t know what it means - it shouldn’t be part of your project.” We also explained that it was a good learning experience. - at least 40 of the 46 today couldn’t pronounce something or read what they wrote down. Presenting in front of the class will be a regular occurrence in fourth grade.
I thought that our class had done such a great job with our author research in January. I think some of them still think that you just write down something from a book, and it’s yours. We will make sure that we do better on our next research.
We visited Kane Hall on Wednesday and got to see all the science fair projects from the eighth graders. Next year we hope to get a longer visit time. The kids didn’t get to listen to presentations from everyone.
I decided to omit spelling this past week. On Monday our list will have inflectional endings. In grammar we will be working on conjunctions. We completed Unit 10 in vocabulary. The test is scheduled for Wednesday.
We never got to one of my favorite chapter books our class normally reads during the winter - Stone Fox. Stone Fox and our Storyworks3 magazine will be part of reading these next two weeks. Students will have comprehension questions to complete at night as part of their homework. Stone Fox is a short novel. We should complete it by Friday. If you have never read the story, it is worth your time.
The work folder went home. Please review it with your child and return it on Monday.
We have 2 weeks before Easter break. We will be busy. I’m hoping that our class can do better at listening to directions the first time and getting started right away at following directions.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
March 13, 2026
The leprechauns have some challenges this year! This week has been so much fun presenting our leprechaun traps to the younger grades. Our writing on “How My Trap Will Catch a Leprechaun” will continue into next week. Traps went home today in hopes to catch a leprechaun at home. I was so impressed with how the third graders interacted with the younger students. We had 6 different classrooms come to view our traps and see our creativity.
We took the Unit 8 fractions test today. We will move into Unit 9 on Tuesday. It involves using our multiplication skills to solve division problems. We will also be practicing two-digit by one-digit multiplication. I hope we are also able to cover two-digit by two-digit before Easter break. I have several review slide decks that I will start to assign on google classroom.
We are down to 8 finalists in our March Madness Book Tournament. Each day we will vote for a different bracket. We played a Dr. Seuss Kahoot game today. It was fun to put all the Dr. Seuss titles together as part of our Fun Friday activities.
We are still in Unit 10 for vocabulary. We wrap up linking verbs on Tuesday for grammar. The remainder of the week is Unit 2 review. Spelling words will be words with suffixes. Because of the short week, the final test will be the following Monday.
We have some fun planned for Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day. Our reading and other activities will be St. Patrick or leprechaun themed. The remainder of the week we will be covering the stories we never got to from our Wonders anthology. We read “Juanita and the Beanstalk”. We will continue with “Clever Jack Takes the Cake”.
We sent off our cards to the homebound. Our class not only covered our special person, but we sent cards and a special treat to 3 other people who are in need of a little TLC. Students are still working on acts of kindness during lent. On Thursday we celebrate the feast day of St. Joseph, the father of Jesus.
In cursive - we will be working on forming capital letters. After we return from Easter break, we will be forming words and sentences. Students will also start bringing home the cursive book for extra practice.
Temperatures are expected to drop next week. Thank you for making sure kids have a jacket to go out for recess. We have had too many kids out sick for too many days since Christmas. I hope this longer weekend will get everyone back to good health.
We still have time to make good on the promises we made on Ash Wednesday. My focus will be on doing what we need to do to be our best selves. See you at church on Sunday!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
March 6, 2026
It is St. Baldrick’s weekend at SCA! What a fun time to come together and support such a good cause.
If your child forgot to return their report card envelope - make sure that they bring it in on Monday. Students will come home next week to have an iReady conference with you to update you on their progress. Some students are steadily moving ahead. Others had to go back and redo lessons that they did not show mastery of during the diagnostic.
Leprechaun traps are due this week. I will have tables set up for students to bring in their traps on Tuesday. We will need to move some things around on Monday to make room for all the creativity. All traps need to be here Thursday morning. Classes will be coming to view our traps when they come for computers or library. Both third grades will combine and explain why their trap is the best for catching a leprechaun. It will be a fun few days. Traps will go home on Friday.
We continue with our March Madness Book Competition. We have voted on four of the brackets. Next Wednesday we will have read all 16 books. Some of the winners have been a surprise. One bracket was almost a tie.
We ended our research on Ruby Bridges on Thursday with a guided draw of Ruby. Our projects will be on display next week while we have so many visitors. I’d like to show the live action movie from Disney sometime the week of the 16th. The Loewe’s will be joining us.
Thank you for setting aside time with your family to participate in Family Reading Night. I love all the pictures that were sent in! It is so important for kids to see adults reading.
We will be doing a fairy tale unit in our Wonders series this week. I am giving a spelling test on Monday for those who didn’t get 100% on variant vowels. Our list for next week will be compound words. Our grammar skill will be linking verbs. We will start Unit 10 in vocabulary
Our science/social studies block will go along with our leprechaun trap writing assignment.
I hope that we can take the unit 8 fraction math assessment next Friday, the 13th. I want to make sure we complete the next level of multiplication and division before Easter break.
The living stations performed by the 8th graders were amazing!!! The kids were in awe. We are making our own stations of the cross booklets so that we can follow along next week when we go with K-4. We continue with performing acts of kindness. We will talk more about our lenten promises. Fr. Matt is coming to talk to both classes during Monday’s religion lesson.
We made cards today for the homebound. They will be delivered with a special treat next week.
It will be another busy week in third grade. I hope that our class will need less reminders on listening and following directions. We still have so much to learn before the end of the year.
I hope that St. Baldrick’s is a big success! I can’t wait to see the leprechaun traps and the winner of our March Madness.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
February 27, 2026
It is officially the end of the second trimester. Many of you will notice that a lot of grades went down. This next trimester we will be making transitions to expectations for fourth grade. Developing good habits now will only help. Report cards go home Thursday, March 5.
We really enjoyed all the Anansi stories this past week. We talked a lot about character traits and then found evidence in the story to support our answers. Every story had a lesson to be learned. This led to discussions about how we treat others.
I hope that you are seeing your child making an effort to be kinder and more helpful at home. Our lenten kindness chain grew quite a bit this past week. This coming week we will visit the stations of the cross.
The March Madness Book Tournament will begin on Monday. This coming week is Read Across America and the celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday. I have created a tournament bracket with 16 of his books. We will be reading and then voting on our favorites. There is a google slide that will be on google classroom next week that has all the read alouds to complete the tournament.
Another part of the week will be family reading night. On Wacky Wednesday I am asking that students turn off electronic devices and read quietly for 20-30 minutes with their family. It can be reading something together, or everyone can find their comfy place and read independently.
The spelling list will be words with variant vowels. Grammar will be helping verbs. We completed Unit 9 vocabulary. That assessment will be on Thursday.
We continue with fractions in math. We wrap up the chapter by the end of the week. I’ve had fraction challenges on Prodigy to practice what we are learning in class.
We will be reading and learning about Ruby Bridges in social studies. We will be discussing segregation and the brave actions of Ruby and her family.
Never a dull moment in third grade! As we move into our last trimester together I hope that we can put forth our best efforts. I appreciate your support!
Blessing,
Mrs. Bucko
February 21, 2026
Several times this week and then again yesterday, the chatter was, “Didn’t this day go by so quickly? Didn’t this week go by so fast?” We were so busy. Prayers would come on at 2:30, and we could hardly believe it. I love that! We did pack a lot of learning into our 4 days.
Thank you to everyone who had a conversation with their child on Tuesday night about their Lenten promises. It made a difference on Wednesday. They took their promises seriously. We wrote them out and made them into scrolls. They are in a basket on our religion table as a reminder of what we are doing to bring us closer to Jesus. I changed out the bulletin boards in our room, and the students made stained glass crosses that hang in our windows. We started coloring our crosses when we do something kind on our Lenten journey. We also started our kindness chain. Some students kept their rosaries out on their desks. I would catch a few of them saying prayers while they were quietly working. (That made my heart happy!)
Another big part of our week was our presidential research. About half the class finished their posters yesterday. The rest should be completed by Tuesday. During that first week of March both third grades sit in a big circle and share information about their president in order of term served. Right now they will be hanging in the hallway for other students to read when they go to computers or the library.
The class did really well on the first fraction test. During review EVERYONE was actively participating. We played challenges on blooket and in Ms. Tesmond’s room to reinforce what was covered in the chapter. Our principals of the day ran a review in our room yesterday. This next chapter will cover representing equivalent fractions in picture and on the number line, comparing fractions with the same denominators, and comparing fractions with the same numerators. It will take the next two weeks to cover the lessons.
Students also did well on the Unit 8 vocabulary test. Participating in daily practice has helped move those students up in grade that needed a little boost. Spelling for this week will be words with diphthongs. In grammar we will cover irregular past tense verbs.
The trimester ends on Thursday. Report cards come home the following week.
Mrs. Loewe and I do a special leprechaun trap project during March. The letter will go home with students on Wednesday. It is a project that is done at home and turned in the week of March 9th. I want to make sure you look for that letter later in the week.
One of my favorite language arts units is this week. We will be reading several African folktales. Anansi the spider will be our main character. This unit will probably go into the following week.
This Wednesday our class will be hosting Mass. Students with readings should continue practicing each night. If you are available, we’d love for you to join us!
On Thursday and Friday I will not be in school. My friend and old teaching partner, Mrs. Cavanaugh will be covering my room. She knows my program, so I am leaving the class in good hands. Since it is the last week of the trimester, I am hoping that any make-up tests from my absent students can be made up by Wednesday.
It will be a busy week for me outside of school. My out of town guests start arriving on Tuesday. Thank you for all the love and prayers! I am so happy to be part of this SCA family!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 13, 2026
We had a great end to the week!!! Today was so nice. Students delivered their valentines throughout the morning. We did more presidential research. We practiced grammar, vocabulary, and math. We demonstrated how to make a light switch to Mrs. Zerth and Mr. O’Keefe. We played math games and valentine bingo. We mastered a math escape room involving division, area, coordinate planes, time, and elapsed time. We got to read all the nice compliments from our classmates on our compliment mailboxes. Our day was so filled with activity that we never got to read our valentines in class. I hope the students had fun reading them when they got home.
We have another very filled four day week coming up. I don’t want to give too much away. We will have a math test on Wednesday and a vocabulary test on Friday.
I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
February 5, 2026
I know that I am writing this early. It is Thursday evening. I just got home from conferences. Thank you to the families that met with me today. It was nice to have such positive conversations. I realized earlier today that it would have helped if I was able to meet with more of you.
We made the light switch!!! It was so exciting to see groups accomplish the task. You’ll have to ask your child about it. This week we will be testing items to create a circuit. We will also be talking about conductors.
In language arts we will be reading “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch”. If you have never read it, I would highly suggest it. It is a beautiful story. We’ll work on characterization, comprehension, and sequencing. Then we will work on presidential research. Everyone will be assigned a president. They will read and research. Then we will be creating presidential posters. The Loewes will also be doing this. All the president posters will be hanging in the hallway for everyone to see and read when they come to the computer lab.
Because of the short week the spelling test will be on Tuesday. We will practice words on Monday.
We started the fraction chapter and will finish it at the end of the week. The fraction unit is divided into 2 parts. There will be a lot of new vocabulary. I’m glad that we were able to work in small groups today to make sure that everyone understood fractions on a number line. Remember to keep practicing math facts. Congratulations to several students that passed multiplication and division levels of Xtra math this week!!! We now have 12 students that have passed the multiplication level.
Thank you to those that sent in money for our homebound parishioners. I was able to make a valentine treat for all 22 people. I have enough left over to make a treat for when we make St. Patrick cards in March.
Students performed their last author interviews. Next week each person from the team will be able to take home the research poster for a night. We will auction off the posters at the end of the week. I am still hearing compliments from teachers for how amazing everyone did.
On Friday students in our class can wear spirit wear - we got a golden ticket pulled!!! I believe Wednesday will also be a spirit wear day because of the 1:45 dismissal.
Since Valentine's Day falls on Saturday, we will exchange valentines on Friday. We are decorating small handled bags. They will be our mailboxes. Students will pass out valentines throughout the morning. There are 23 students in our class. In the afternoon we will read our valentines and participate in more valentine fun.
There are only 3 weeks left of the trimester. Let’s finish it strong!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 31, 2026
Good morning! It’s snowing outside. The kids are going to be so excited!
It was a busy week. It always is. The highlight in our classroom was performing our author interviews for other classes. On Thursday both first grades, Mrs. Zerth, and Mr. O’Keefe watched. On Friday Mrs. Loewe came over with her class. On Monday both second grades will be our audience. Everyone has been very impressed! I am so proud of all the information that they were able to share. I will take pictures on Monday and share in our learning photos.
We will continue to take the iReady diagnostic. I hope that we are done by the end of Wednesday. Everyone has finished the reading. Almost half of the class has finished the math.
Thank you for encouraging your child to practice their math facts. I will be taking a grade for Xtra math and multiplication sweets at the end of the trimester. We start fractions on Monday. We have actually been practicing many of the skills already, so I hope this will be a quick unit.
Because we had no homework on Thursday, the spelling test from this past week will be on Monday morning. Next week’s list will be words with prefixes. The same goes for vocabulary. We took a practice quiz for Unit 7 on Thursday. The Unit 7 assessment will be on Monday. Kids can go on vocabulary workshop to practice. We are still working on possessive nouns for grammar.
We finished our novena for moms and babies. We are going to keep offering up our prayers every morning and every time that we say a Hail Mary. Sunday, February 1 is the feast of St. Brigid. On Monday we will be using our language arts and religion block to learn about this amazing saint. I’ll share more later. Thank you for all the donations that were sent in this week. I am always blown over by the generosity of our SCA families.
Science will be exciting this week. They will learn how to make a light switch with an index card, paper clip, and brass brads. We researched and read about Thomas Edison. I love that they love science so much.
Of course this first week of February will not be a normal week. Thursday is a 1:00 dismissal for parent/teacher conferences. Friday is the Archdiocese Professional Development Day. No school.
I ask for your continued prayers for my father-in-law. He was put on hospice yesterday. My house is full of families from out of state. I plan on being at school every day, so this shouldn’t affect the kids.
I look forward to all the fun learning this week holds.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 24, 2026
One more day… Sunday is the kick off for Catholic Schools Week across America. We come together for 9:30 Mass and then travel upstairs for our open house. There is also fellowship in Kane Hall following Mass. The students have been working so hard preparing for your visit. They completed their author research boards for display. They can also demonstrate the last three electricity science labs. My favorite part about this day is coming together as a family. I’m excited to see all the smiling faces.
Yesterday we had our first eLearning day in a long time. I was so glad that most students got started in the morning and emailed me when they completed their work. A few emailed they were done, and then I checked Xtra math - and they skipped that. No worries today - just make sure your child goes over the list again on google classroom. I want all packets returned in their entirety on Monday. A few more students completed the Xtra math multiplication level. Congratulations!
Ms. Tesmond is going to work with me Monday in making sure that everyone is caught up in math. We need to move on to the next chapter. I reviewed subtraction this past week - more than half the class forgot what to do. This can’t keep happening. It needs to be part of them so that they are successful when they are doing long division and fractions in fourth grade. We will start the iReady math diagnostic at some point this week. If students can’t complete subtraction skills - they will score as a second grader. We have worked too hard. I don’t want to go backwards. Thank you to all the families who have been practicing facts each night. It does make a difference.
We will be learning about the contributions of Thomas Edison and the many amazing scientists that worked under him in science. We will also be testing circuits.
We will not have a spelling test this week. We will wrap up our vocabulary unit and work on our author project. Students will be taking the information they acquired during research and create interview questions and answers. I’ll see how far we get on Monday and Tuesday. My hope is that other classes will come to our classroom to watch the author interviews on Thursday and Friday.
The iReady diagnostic will continue this week. Almost half the room has completed the reading portion. I’d like to start the math portion on Wednesday.
I am heading a SCA service project to reach out to our homebound parishioners. Every class has been assigned a specific person. We are making valentine cards on Monday to send to the homebound during February. I am asking if each student in third grade could bring $1 on Monday or Tuesday to help cover the cost of the special treat that I’d like to include with each package of cards. This is not required - just asking for help to cover the cost.
There are so many fun activities planned during the week. The schedule is in the Charger Check-in and posted on facebook. On Monday our class is being asked to wear a black shirt with their SCA sweatpants. We are taking an all school picture. I will have the students put reminders in their assignment books each day.
I am requesting conferences from several families. That will be coming home on Monday. I know that some of you already sent the form in, but as I said before - those forms shouldn’t have come home yet. If you would like to discuss your child’s iReady scores, you can schedule a conference.
I am very excited to see all of you tomorrow. Stay warm!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 17, 2026
Good morning!!! We have had a lot of kids out the past 2 weeks. Between strep throat, fever, and the stomach bug, I am hoping that this long weekend will be the end of it. I am going in this weekend to deep clean with Lysol. Maintenance has also come in and sprayed our room down more than once.
Because of all the students out, we have had to move the schedule around quite a bit. I don’t want to get further behind, but I also understand that we need everyone on the same page. I did not give the math assessment on area. That is rescheduled for this Thursday. The spelling test for this past week will be on Wednesday. There will be no spelling list this coming week.
For morning math this week we will review chapter 6 area chapter, but we will also be doing mini lessons to review math skills. I introduced the center on counting coins, a second grade skill, only to find that over half the room didn’t know which coins were which, nor what their value was. It is hard to move ahead on new skills when I keep having to go backwards to review second grade skills. On a positive note, we now have 8 students who have completed their multiplication sweets through 12x. Congratulations!!! We have 4 students who have completed the multiplication level of Xtra math. Those who have met goals will have their achievements posted for open house. There are a few students who were a bit behind, but many have made amazing progress since our return. I am proud of their consistent effort to do better.
In social studies we spent time this week learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. I wanted the students to understand why we have a day off on Monday. Our focus has been on treating others fairly and with kindness. It has led to many deep discussions. I plan on showing the video, My Friend Martin, on Tuesday if we get through our other work.
The highlight of our week has been science. The excitement in our room is invigorating. We learned how to create a simple circuit that lit up a miniature light bulb. We also learned how to make a simple motor run. This week we will be continuing making and testing circuits. The materials will be out during open house for students to demonstrate to their families.
We continue our novena this week. Each day we placed a baby in Mary’s arms. We said a Hail Mary and offered our prayers for all mothers and babies.
We started the iReady diagnostic in reading. We will continue this week.
The other favorite of the week was working on the Author Research Project. Students completed the research portion and will begin on typing their information. We will work Tuesday - Thursday on typing documents. On Friday we will put the display boards together. Each team will need a poster board by Wednesday. (Some students will be ready to start early.)
This week will be busy in preparation for the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. Open house is next Sunday, January 25. We start with 9:30 Mass. Open house immediately follows. There are many activities planned during the week. I will post all of that next weekend. It will also be included in the charger check-in.
I hope that you have a happy and healthy weekend! GO BEARS!!!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 9, 2026
I left work happy that we had such a good week back! I hope that all the positive things that happened this week continue into the next.
We did have 5 people out today. Headache, stomach ache, and sore throat seemed to be a complaint from several students. I hope this weekend allows many to get rest and recoup before they return to school.
We started the Author Research Project. I asked students to get a parent signature on the rubric sent home Thursday for homework. If you didn’t see the sheet - make sure that you sign it over the weekend. Students started their research notes. We will work on that most of next week. I think all but 2 students have a copy of a book to read by their author. I am expecting everyone to read their chapter book every night so that they have at least 1 chapter book read by January 23.
Spelling for this week will be another r-controlled word list. Because of students out on Friday, we will take the grammar test on concrete and abstract nouns on Monday. We will also start possessive nouns on Monday. Vocabulary Unit 7 will continue throughout the week.
In math we have been working hard on determining the area of different figures. There was a little confusion on composite figures, but most could handle the easier problems. I’ve scheduled the test for Friday.
We had 2 more students complete their multiplication sweets!!! Many more are so close. In Xtra math I am hearing daily about the amazing streaks of correct answers. I am proud of the students that are still in addition and subtraction that have been practicing daily at home. The hard work has really made a difference. The best part about all of this is that students are taking pride in their hard work. They are pushing themselves to be their best.
We do not have a start date scheduled for the iReady diagnostic. I’ll let you know when we do. I’m guessing it will be sometime next week.
It was fun starting cursive. I will still be doing instruction before we start in the actual cursive workbook.
We had our first electricity science lab today. The whole first half of the lab was spent going over the rules for “how to do science”. The whole unit is hands-on labs. When you come for the open house, your child will be able to demonstrate several of the labs.
Third grade did an amazing job hosting Mass on Wednesday. I was so proud! I have been sharing stories from the Bible for religion. Most of the stories have been about the prophets - We discussed Solomon, Daniel, Elijah, and Nehemiah. I will continue with stories, and we will be starting a novena for mothers and babies.
I have to bring my Olivia back to Marquette in the morning. I will miss her so much! My father-in-law was moved out of the ICU today and into a regular room. It is also my weekend to care for my mom, so it will be busy at the Bucko house. Thank you for your continued prayers.
I hope you have a nice weekend! GO BEARS!!!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
January 3, 2026
I can hardly believe that Christmas break is almost over. I went into school yesterday to put all the furniture back, today I corrected all the work that was turned in before we left, and tomorrow I will finish switching everything from Christmas to New Year. All the desk materials are in the lockers, so everything will need to be put back when the students first enter the building.
I will be starting to teach cursive writing. This first week the focus will be on stroke formation. Our language arts instruction will come from Scholastic News and the Storyworks3 magazine. The grammar skill will be concrete and abstract nouns. Spelling will be words with r-controlled vowels. In vocabulary we will be working on Unit 7.
In math we will be determining the area of different figures. Students will learn different strategies to solve problems. Each day students will test on multiplication facts and Xtra math. (I’d like everyone to pass by January 23.)
I hope that students found time to read for the winter reading challenge. That is not due until January 12. We will start one of our largest projects of the year this week - Author Research Project. Details will come home later in the week with a complete explanation.
We will also be starting our new science unit on electricity. It is hands-on labs a majority of the week.
I’m excited for all the new things that will be starting. We will be setting goals for the remainder of the year- both academic and social.
After entering scores today, I noticed that several students have work they didn’t turn in before break. I also noticed that there are still some missing assignments. I’ll check in with everyone on Monday and make sure that everything is in balance by Friday.
Many of you know that my father-in-law has been in the hospital since early November. The past two months feel like a blur outside of school. He is now in the ICU. Please keep him in your prayers.
I’m so excited to see everyone on Monday!!! I have so many fun things planned.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
December 20, 2025
It’s officially Christmas break!!! I want to say a big thank you to everyone for the cards and gifts. You were very generous. I feel blessed to get to go to a job every day that I love. I am thankful for your support and partnership.
I wanted to make sure that you were aware of my expectations over break. Students brought home a winter reading challenge on Tuesday. They have until January 12 to complete that. (That’s a week after we go back to school.) Every time they read 20 minutes they can add a marshmallow to their reading mug. I’m expecting everyone to have 10 marshmallows in their cup by January 12.
Secondly, I would like students to practice their multiplication facts when they have down time. Sheppard Software and Arcademic Skill Builders have many 1 - 2 minute practice games. On epic there are fun videos to sing along with to practice the facts. I’m hoping that everyone passes their multiplication sweets by January 23. Students who have met goals will have their work hanging for open house on the 25th. We already have 3 students who have completed their 12’s!!! The same 3 students have already passed their multiplication level on Xtra math.
Students can have you sign squares on their 67 acts of kindness over break. We will be working on this throughout January. Maybe you’ll get some extra help preparing for Christmas.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. I am trying to slow down and find the beauty and blessings in the small things. It’s not easy being a parent - sometimes we feel that we have to do it all. My favorite Christmas memories are all simple - spending time with friends and family, good food, and lots of laughing. Be good to yourself!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
December 14, 2025
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It’s cold outside! My heart was quickly warmed when I saw so many third graders at Mass this morning. What a great job they did with the readings and singing after communion! I hope you enjoyed fellowship afterwards.
The special dress downs for this week are listed below.
We also have special activities. On Tuesday students can pack a stuffed animal or special blanket on pj day. We are watching a movie that goes along with a story from our Jesse Tree. On Wednesday it is the Christmas program with our music teacher. They will practice in front of school in the afternoon. The big performance is at 7:00. Arrive at 6:45 wearing nice Christmas wear. On Thursday we have Christmas fun in the afternoon with parents. On Friday the student council is playing Christmas games in our classroom.
Even though we have a lot going on, I expect that students are ready to learn. This past week both third grades needed constant reminders about listening and following directions. Transitioning from subject to subject seems to be when they struggle the most. I appreciate a reminder at home that there is still learning going on and grades given.
Thank you for all the delicious sandwiches!! We packed a large box.We included labels of love. They were delivered to Catholic Charities sites on the southside Saturday morning.
We will read the final chapters of The Mouse and the Motorcycle this week. The spelling test from last week’s words will be on Monday. There will be no new list until after break. The vocabulary Unit 6 test was rescheduled for this Wednesday. The grammar skill will be common and proper nouns.
Students should be practicing their multiplication facts each night - even when it’s not part of regular homework. There are practice games on Sheppard Software and Arcademic Skill Builders. I gave the distributive property of multiplication test last Thursday. Daily I give timed tests on multiplication facts. Students are trying to pass 2 - 12x fact tests to complete their multiplication sweets challenge. They are also continuing to work on Xtra math. I do have a few students who can’t do the multiplication level yet, because they never completed the addition and subtraction levels by November 1. Part of our math work this week will be trying to solve “The Case of the Selfish Elf”.
In religion, we will continue the study of the Jesse Tree. Each night I am asking students to do a kind deed. They can color in a square on the 67 acts of kindness form. I’m hoping that the form will be complete by the start of Catholic Schools Week at the end of January.
Many students could use supplies for stocking stuffers. Pencils, dry erase markers, crayons, markers, colored pencils - are all in short supply.
Thank you for making sure your child is dressed for the cold weather! There have been a few students who are coming to school without their chromebook charged, missing a snack, or forgetting a sweatshirt/sweater. There are 5 days before break. We can do this!!!
I will not be at school on Monday. After almost 5 weeks in the hospital, my father in law is home. My husband and I are meeting with home health and OT/PT tomorrow morning.
I hope that you are blessed with time to slow down and appreciate the lights on the Christmas tree, the wonder of your child, Christmas music, and doing something you love with your family. I’ve been trying to look for the beauty in simple things - and appreciate the blessings that I’ve been given. I can’t wait to read the book I got for my birthday!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
December 6, 2025
Happy St. Nicholas Day!!! The students put out shoes at school for St. Nick yesterday. It will be fun to walk in on Monday and see if he left anything.
We are not really following our normal schedule these next two weeks. There have been so many interruptions and special projects this past week. Looking ahead, I see that will continue.
Humphrey seems to be having a lot of fun going home with students on the weekend. Remember to take a picture and send it to my email when it is your child’s turn.
We will continue reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. If your child is absent, make sure they read what they missed before they return to school. I will post read alouds on google classroom for the remaining chapters. I am noticing that many students aren’t going back and rereading to find answers to comprehension questions. This is a struggle I face every year. In third grade students may need to read something two or three times before they understand a concept or follow a story line. I have noticed that some of my students in third grade lessons on iReady are failing multiple lessons because they don’t focus in or go back and reread a passage. I will have your child conference with you this week so that you can see what I mean. If I gave a grade for iReady reading - several of my top readers would be getting below C grades.
I am so proud of the work students have been doing in math. We have been spending over 2 hours each day submerging ourselves in multiplication and division. Students are testing facts daily. Everyone has passed their 2’s. We go up to 12. We also started the Xtra math multiplication level. We already have 2 students that have passed this week - and 1 who passed the fourth grade division level. I hope that all students return from Christmas break knowing their facts - well.
We are studying the Jesse Tree in religion. This week we covered the stories from Creation, Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham & Sarah, and Isaac. Each day we hang a new ornament on our tree and read the story from scripture. Ask your child about what they’re learning. We will be adding acts of kindness to this week’s homework.
Part of our acts of kindness this Advent season is making a sandwich for the homeless. Third and fourth graders are being asked to make an extra sandwich to bring to school on Friday. The student should make the sandwich. It can be peanut butter and jelly, meat and cheese, or whatever you have. Mr. John Chesna volunteers with Catholic Charities on Saturday mornings. He will deliver our sandwiches to the needy on the south side.
Monday, December 8, is a holy day of obligation - the immaculate conception. We will have church at 8:30. The feast of Juan Diego is December 9. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is December 12.
Wednesday is an early dismissal at 1:45.
We did not take the spelling test on Friday. Several students said they weren’t ready. We will take it Monday morning. We will have the Unit 6 vocabulary test on Friday. Our grammar skills are common and proper nouns.
Let’s make this last 10 days amazing! You can help me by making sure that your student is coming to school ready to learn. We had too many reminders on respectful behaviors and good listening skills this past week.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
November 28, 2025
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!! I hope that you all got to spend time enjoying life with family and friends. I can hardly believe that it will be December when we return on Monday!
Students were sent home with a math game called Gobble Bump on Tuesday. I asked that they play it at some point over the 5 day weekend. Please sign their assignment book if you were able to play with your child. We will be totally submerged with multiplication and division when we return. Students will be working on a different fact family each day. Multiplication Sweets will start this week. Students will be tested on each fact family for speed and accuracy. There will be sites they can visit on their chromebook to help with practice at home.
We will be starting our new literature unit with The Mouse and the Motorcycle on Monday. This unit will last the three weeks of December. Students will be reading each night, answering comprehension questions, and completing skill activities. I will be posting read alouds in google classroom for those that need the reading help. The book and packet will remain in the bookbag throughout all of December. If a student is home sick, make sure that they listen to the read aloud.
The first candle on the Advent wreath will be lit this Sunday. All our Thanksgiving materials went home on Tuesday because our room will be changing for the Advent season. In our classroom we study the Jesse Tree, the family tree of Jesus, during this month. We read scripture, discuss stories, and put up ornaments to symbolize the stories of the people that are part of the Jesse Tree. We will be completing acts of kindness. Students will be keeping a calendar of the extra kind deeds they do during this holy season. On Wednesday grades 3 - 8 will be going to reconciliation.
Spelling words will be three letter blends. We will finish up on irregular plural nouns. We will be starting Unit 6 in vocabulary.
Our class is scheduled to visit the Santa Store on Thursday, December 4 morning.
On Thursday there will be a Fire Buddies assembly. On Friday there will be a $1 dress down to support the program.
With the colder weather please make sure your child is dressed warmly for recess. It is no longer appropriate for just a sweatshirt to be worn outdoors for a long period of time. I appreciate your help with adhering to our uniform policy. Girls have been wearing the proper leggings, tights, and socks under their jumpers.
There will be reading, spelling, and math homework each night during December. It would be beneficial to establish a routine so that your child comes prepared for school each day.
December gets so busy. I hope that it can be a time that we all grow closer to Jesus and prepare our hearts for his coming. The simple things we do for others can really make a difference. I’m going to savor these last two days with my family under one roof. I count you in my blessings!
Come Lord Jesus, Come Quickly!
Mrs. Bucko
November 27, 2025
November 21, 2025
Our first week of the trimester is complete. We ended up needing to review more than I had expected for tests. I was so happy that the entire class had a C or higher on the math test. When we went over it today, everyone was able to correct their simple mistakes. We started a new chapter today. We spent an hour learning the distributive property of multiplication. We will review again on Monday. My hope is that they show you what they’ve learned for homework on Monday night.
A very packed work folder came home today. Please take time to look it over with your child. There are still a few more things coming home on Monday. Thank you for the prompt response returning report card envelopes. Those who didn’t should put in the back pack so that it is returned on Monday.
If you are planning on not being in attendance on Monday or Tuesday - please let me know. Just a reminder from open house: I do not give homework in advance of a vacation scheduled during regular school hours. If we are reading a chapter book, I will give a copy to take so that students aren’t behind when they return. There have been a few times that students have been out for more than a day and the class knows they will be out, but I haven’t gotten an email from a parent. I appreciate your open communication with me.
Students worked really hard on Monday and Tuesday typing their paragraphs for their Life in Pilgrim Times report. They’ve been busy adding pictures and getting the report organized. I’m hoping that they will visit other classrooms on Tuesday to share what they’ve learned. Everyone will take turns bringing the report home to share after break.
We started bringing Humphrey home this weekend. Students will take turns having Humphrey at their house. They will write in his little notebook - detailing the adventures they had with him. If you could take a picture or two while Humphrey is at your house - please send the pictures to my email. We will be creating a book about Humphrey’s adventures after everyone has had a chance to have him.
Our classroom schedule will run differently the next two school days. I have special projects and activities planned for the days leading to break.
You are welcome to join us for Mass on Tuesday morning at 8:30. It is the feast day of St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Enjoy the weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
November 15, 2025
Yesterday marked the end of our first trimester together. I will be entering final grades over the weekend. Report cards will go home with students on Thursday, November 20. There will be a social/emotional growth report included. Please sign and have your child return the report card envelope the following day.
Students will complete a self evaluation in class. The focus is both academic and behavioral. I do self evaluation several times a month. I know that I can always improve upon something. I want them to be proud of areas they worked hard at. I also want them to set goals for areas they can continue to improve upon.
The students really enjoyed going to the theater on Thursday! Chicken Little was a hit!
We completed part 1 of our math review on Friday. We will continue with reviewing Unit 4 on Monday. The test will be on Tuesday. The unit covers 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 multiplication and division facts. It also includes reading through word problems, finding out what the question is asking, using different strategies to get the answer, understanding vocabulary, and showing work to help explain how they got to the answer. On Wednesday and Thursday we will be spending time understanding the distributive property of multiplication. On Friday we will start covering the remaining multiplication and division facts. That will carry into the next week. Homework on Thursday will be explaining to you how to work through harder problems with the distributive property.
Spelling words will be words with silent letters. Our grammar skill will be irregular plural nouns. We will complete the Unit 5 vocabulary assessment on Wednesday.
Students have been reading and taking notes for their Life in Pilgrim Times report. Monday - Wednesday students will be organizing the information they’ve gathered and creating good paragraph(s). My hope is that they will start typing on Thursday. They are not writing these paragraphs at home. Part of our language arts block will be dedicated to working on our project.
Another part of our language arts block will be reading a play entitled “Look Up”. It is the story (and artist) behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students will practice parts. We will also be doing several activities on this subject throughout the week and following week.
Fr. John will be visiting our classroom on Monday afternoon. He will be sharing a bit more about himself and his vocation. We will be working on breaking up the prayer “Our Father” and better understanding the meaning of what we pray each day. We will also start our work on the different forms of prayer. On Tuesday morning we will be working with some of our PreK buddies on a Thanksgiving project for their classroom. We’ve been partnered with PreK-3 this year. We will be meeting with them monthly.
Before we left on Friday our entire class cleaned out folders, cleaned desks, lockers, and even backpacks. On Monday it is the start of the new trimester. Everyone starts with a clean slate. We will be going over routines, transitions, and expectations. The bar will be set higher. We will self evaluate and set goals. My three big words ORGANIZATION, RESPONSIBILITY, INDEPENDENCE will be put into practice.
I ask that you keep my father-in-law in your prayers. He fell last weekend and has been in the hospital. He had neck and spinal surgery on Thursday. He’s doing okay, but it will be a long recovery.
We will be taking down our ofrenda at the end of the week. Thank you for sharing your pictures and momentos. Pictures will be returned in their homework folder with their report cards.
Enjoy your weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
November 7, 2025
I just finished my morning session of professional development. I am collaborating with other teachers in the archdiocese to go over religion curriculum in second and third grade. I got a lot of new ideas this morning that I will be adding to our curriculum in the coming weeks. My afternoon session is mindfulness and building a culture of empathy and kindness in the classroom.
We are entering the final week of the first trimester. It will be busy. We are also starting on new projects. Report cards and social/emotional growth reports will go home on Thursday, November 20.
We will continue in our Storyworks3 magazine during the week. On Thursday and Friday we will be reading and practicing a play about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Spelling words will be long e. We will start Unit 5 in vocabulary. In grammar we will test on plural nouns. We have spent two weeks working on this unit - since there are so many different spelling rules. Students have really been participating in discussions.
There will also be reading and note taking during social studies. I passed out our new project guidelines for the Life in Pilgrim Times report. Students were asked to take that home on Thursday and get your signature. I encourage a trip to the library so that students have other resources to use for note taking on their subject. We will be reading and taking notes throughout the week. I will also have online resources they can go to that are posted on google classroom.
There will be a math assessment on multiplication facts; 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10’s on Wednesday. The big chapter test will be the following week. There will be a grade for Xtra math subtraction level on Friday.
Thursday is our field trip to the Beverly Arts Center. Thank you for turning in all your forms on time. Students will wear their gym uniforms. They need to be in gym sweatpants - no shorts. We will be back for lunch at school. I believe that we will be doing a short bus evacuation drill that same day.
In religion students will be choosing a saint to create a banner that will be hanging in our hallway. Both third grades will be creating these banners. It is not an extensive report. They will be looking up specific facts on their saint. We will be making cards for Veterans on Monday. Tuesday we will learn the background of this holiday. On Wednesday our school mass will be dedicated to veterans.
Our ofrenda is filled with family. In the morning we turn on the candles and offer our morning prayers to those included on our altar. I’ve included a few pictures in our classroom learning photos. We’ll keep the altar up until the week of Thanksgiving. Students can still bring in pictures.
Tuesday is a $1 dress in red, white, and blue to celebrate Veterans Day. There is also a $1 dress down on Friday.
The temperatures will be dropping soon. Make sure students are dressed to be outside in the colder temperatures for recess.
Enjoy your weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
November 1, 2025
Wow! What a week! I’m glad we’ll be going back to our normal routine.
On Thursday both third grades combined for Halloween themed activities. Mrs. Loewe held a science lab and in my room we did language arts activities and word puzzles. We played Boo Bump for math.
It is only a four day week. Friday is archdiocese professional development for teachers.
In reading we will be working with our Storyworks3 magazine. We will start the week with the nonfiction story “Monster Mystery”. We will read a fiction story “The Girl and the Ghost”. We’ll end the week with a play “Look Up”. There will not be a spelling list this week. Our grammar skill will be plural nouns. In vocabulary we will start Unit 5.
We will start Unit 4 in math. This will also be the start to memorizing multiplication facts. We will be working on 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 0’s, and 1’s. All students have been practicing these facts since kindergarten. Now we will be practicing them out of order. I was happy with the base they formed in our last chapter. Now we will build on that base. I will not be starting the multiplication level of Xtra math until the start of the second trimester. I need students who are still in subtraction to practice each night. I am giving students two more weeks to pass this level.
Our ofrenda looks so nice. If you still have pictures of loved ones that you’d like to be included - have your child bring in this week. Daily prayers will be offered. We also started talking about our numerous blessings. We will start our saint research this week. This week they will be finding out basic facts of a saint they may not be familiar with. The prayers we said regularly during October will be tested on before the end of the trimester; Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
Map skills will be the focus of social studies this week. Latitude and longitude and using a grid map will be the main skills covered.
On Monday we will join the Loewes for the viewing of Coco. It will help deepen understanding of our ofrenda. Students are also allowed to wear pjs. This will be the last day of special activities from Booster. They should wear their gym shoes.
I hope you have a great weekend! Remember to change your clocks.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
October 24, 2025
I hope everyone is having fun at trunk-or-treat! I walked 3 miles home today. It felt great, but now I am in for the night.
We finished reading The World According to Humphrey. Today, Monday, and Tuesday we will be finishing up on activities and tests associated with the book. Starting next Friday, two students will be bringing home Humphrey for the weekend. (Don’t worry! It is a stuffed hamster.) Humphrey keeps a little notebook in his cage. Students are asked to write a little about what Humphrey experienced at their house over the weekend. If possible, please take a picture or two and send to my email: [email protected]. We create a book with all of Humphrey’s experiences after everyone has had him for the weekend. I will be sharing Humphrey pictures from past classes so they fully understand what to do when it is their weekend.
Most of this week in language arts we will be reading and participating in Halloween themed activities. We will take the long o spelling test on Monday. The remainder of the week will be spelling words with long i and long u. We will take that test on Friday. Yesterday students took a short practice test for Unit 4 vocabulary. On Monday we will take the actual test that was scheduled for this past Thursday. In grammar we will be working on plural nouns.
In math we completed chapter 3 review part 1. We will work on review part 2 on Monday and Tuesday. The test is scheduled for Wednesday. I am so happy with the participation during math class. Students are really showing what they know. If you noticed, there is a lot more reading with math in third grade. That is why we are working on strategies to help us figure out what the problem is asking. We will be making math posters to show the different strategies we can use when working with multiplication. Students that finish their work early have been able to go on Prodigy or iReady math games. Many students have been working with perimeter, area, time, puzzles, and missing numbers in equations. They are already practicing material we will cover in later chapters.
We finished our science lab - going batty. Students created skeletal pictures of their hand and arm. The finished product looks like an xray picture. They are hanging in our windows. We then compared our bones to that of a bat - a lot of similarities. Ask them to tell you about the lab. Science is always more fun when it is hands-on. We will be working on our research and writing our final paragraphs on bats.
Our new counselor will be coming in to read and do an activity with both third grades this week. We are so fortunate to have a counselor in our building. Our religion lessons this week focus on ways we can show respect for our neighbors. Her lesson will incorporate that same message.
This week is a little crazy with all the special activities going on. There are dress downs each day. (Look back at the Charger Check-In) We have bingo on Wednesday afternoon. Our room moms have been planning fun for Halloween. We have the parade and assembly. With all these distractions I still need students to come focused and ready to learn. The expectations in our classroom will remain the same - even with all the fun.
Our class had 15 minutes of extra “indoor recess” today. Students will not have homework on Monday. They earned that from the walk-a-thon.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
October 18, 2025
I had to care for my mom yesterday. My friend and old teaching partner, Mrs. Cavanaugh was the sub. When I texted and asked if she needed anything, she responded back: GREAT CLASS!!! It made my heart happy that in the first hour they had shown her their positive spirit.
Our first week of literature circles went well. Our St. Xavier student was observing on Wednesday and was impressed by the discussion when we came back together as a whole class. This week we will continue with The World According to Humphrey. I have read alouds posted on google classroom. There will be comprehension questions for homework each night.
We will be reading and researching more about bats this week. We will have our Going Batty Mystery Science lab later in the week. National Geographic Kids, epic books, and classroom informational texts will be used. We got a little behind last week on the informational texts, but I’ve included them in this weeks’ plans.
How was the iReady conference? I hope you learned a little more about where your child is at. They can show you any day what lessons they are working on at school.
The new multiplication and division chapter has been fun. We got halfway through it. It is only 7 lessons. We will finish this week. Strategies are a big part of learning facts. Understanding multiplication and division will make it easier for memorizing facts in the next chapters.
We will have our long a spelling test tomorrow. This week’s list will be long o words. We continue with pronouns in grammar. Our Unit 4 vocabulary test is scheduled for Thursday.
It’s our walk-a-thon on Tuesday. We are so close to meeting our classroom goal. We will be choosing our team name for our flag. We will be using that same flag for field days.
Our Mass was so nice! Students spent some time with Fr. Matt on Thursday in the adoration chapel. I know we all need to slow down sometimes and have quiet time with Jesus.
This week our school counselor will be visiting our classroom and getting to know the third graders a little better.
This week will be busy. Homework will be math, spelling, and reading each night.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko
Hello third grade family!
My name is Patricia Bucko. I am excited to start my sixth year at St. Catherine of Alexandria in third grade. I am originally from Stillwater, Minnesota. I moved to Illinois to marry my husband, Jon, of 33 years. We have 3 incredible children. Thirty-three of my thirty-five years in teaching have been in third grade.
I love my job! Teaching is my passion. I try to create a classroom space where students love to learn and strive to grow to their true potential. My classroom has always been faith based. I hope to create this same learning environment this year. I look forward to meeting you soon!
Blessings,
Mrs. Bucko