And the winner is.......

In our poll to find the most popular name for our adorable, fuzzy, big-eyed new pet, there was a clear winner.  The overwhelming majority of voters chose the following name for our new hamster.  And so, our little rodent's name is...

COCOA! 

Welcome to third grade, little fuzzy head!

Don't forget to look for our newest poll regarding urban sprawl and its effect on wildlife!

My Birthday... by Trinity

Thursday October 20th was my 9th birthday and I was so happy! My mom made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for my class and me.  They tasted so good we all almost screamed.  Everyone in class made me birthday cards that were really nice.  After school and cheerleading practice we went to my Nanie’s for pizza and for ice cream cake (that’s my mom and my favorite kind of birthday cake). I got a lot of cool things for my birthday like money, clothes and a real lava lamp!

Halloween Safety... by Ethan

It’s Halloween time and you need to be safe,

so here are some rules to follow.

1. Always carry a glow stick, flashlight, lantern or any other light source so you don’t bump into anything.
2.  Never accept or eat candy from strangers.  If the wrapper is open and no one opened it for you then don’t eat it because it could be poisonous.
3. Trick or treat in a big group or with an adult so you don’t get lost.
4. If you are wearing a cloak or dress, cut the edges so you won’t trip on a sidewalk and get a bloody nose.
5. Remember to look both ways when crossing the street to see if a car is coming.

If you follow these 5 rules and maybe some of your own,

you can have a safe and fun Halloween!

Blue Devils Bonfire 2011... by Jaimee

Hi blog reader, it’s Jaimee. I wrote a little article about the bonfire. Check it out.

The bonfire at the Blue Devils field was awesome.  First, all the cheerleaders did their routines, then all the fun started. We got our parents and went to get our hats, gloves and scarves. The lights on the field turned off. It was really dark. A lot of kids had glow sticks.

We walked over to the fire zone. The firemen were throwing gas and sparklers into the fire. Soon it was lit, it was hot very hot. It was way too hot, so we all had to back up. A lot of my classmates were there. There was Kiera, Trinity, Christian, Cian, and myself from our classroom. A lot of kids from other classes were with us too.

We stated playing tag. When we got done playing tag we went to see the fire truck. We all split up. Me and Kiera went to the older cheerleaders. They were doing stunts they put us in preps, fulls, and basket tosses. It was fun. They also put the football players up in stunts too. They fell a lot. It was funny to watch. It was so much fun! Soon we all had to go. That’s how the 2011 Blue Devils bonfire went.

Click HERE to visit the Absecon Blue Devils website!

Thanks for reading!

Calling all Boxtops... by Haram

Hey, let's get those BOXTOPS running!  Mrs. Stanton is surprised only four people brought back their Batty Boxtops paper.  Now there isn't that much time left to bring it.  So let's talk about where you could get BOXTOPS.  You could get them at places such as cereal boxes and snack bags and LOTS of other products!  Plus, BOXTOPS raise money for our school!  So let's keep BOXTOPS running!

PS- If you bring in your ten BATTY BOXTOPS you'll get a prize!

Click HERE to get a BATTY form.

Eat your Carrotsticks!

Mrs. Stanton found a fun new site for you to try.  It's a math practice game site where you can create your own user name and avatar.  Follow these steps:

• Go to http://www.carrotsticks.com/marsh  
• Click Play Now 
• Make your user name AND password... first name and last initial
• Create your avatar by customizing the hair, clothes and shoes
• Example: John Martin would be John M
• Play opponents from our class... you'll see Mrs. Stanton there, too!
• Come back and leave a comment here to let Mrs. Stanton know how you liked it! 

B L O W P O P #5

Ready to go for a ride? Take this little gem for a spin!
Due by Friday October 28th.

Thank you, Ezra!

A big THANK YOU to Ezra and his family for donating a new book to our classroom library!  Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel is the latest in a series about... of course... a really crazy kitty!

Kitty's owners are home with a big surprise for Kitty. But what is it? Kitty, reeling in horror, thinks it’s a . . . dog. The neighbor cats are convinced it’s a cat.  But we all know that it’s really a BABY!


With Nick Bruel’s trademark mix of antic humor (this time involving a Kitty game show and the Kitty Olympics—which the baby wins hands down), riotous illustrations, total mayhem, and Uncle Murray Fun Facts, this may be the funniest Kitty book yet, and the one that hits closest to home.

Check out Nick Bruel as he describes the trouble BAD KITTY creates...

Fire Safety Assembly

Our good friend Officer DeRitis returned today for the annual Fire Safety Assembly.  He brought along fellow firefighter and former Absecon student Nick LaRotonda.  They talked about using 9-1-1 and what to do in case of a fire in your home.  We watched Firefighter LaRotonda put on all of his gear... Wow! 

Back at the classroom, we had a chance to share all that we learned about the DOs and DON'Ts of fire safety.  Here is what we came up with...

An Amazing Tale!

Mrs. Stanton went to the movies last night to see Dolphin Tale!  Have you seen this film?  It is a heart-warming story about a boy named Sawyer and his special friendship with an amazing sea mammal named Winter.

The story is a tale of stick-to-it-ness... not just for Winter, but for so many other characters as well!  Comment below to share your thoughts on how one of the characters had to really work hard to make his or her wish come true. 

You can write about any character:

• Winter
• Sawyer
• Sawyer's cousin Kyle
• Sawyer's Mom
• Hazel
• Hazel's Dad- Dr. Clay
• Dr. McCarthy

** Your comment won't appear right away... Mrs. Stanton has to approve it first :)

After you comment, check out the Fling-a-Fish Game!

A big THANK YOU to Ethan and his family for donating the book to our classroom library!  Dolphin Tale: A True Tale of Friendship is available this week at the Marsh School Book Fair.

Getting Ready for your first math test...

Our Chapter 1 test will be on Tuesday October 18th.  You can brush up on your skills and review at home!  Access all kinds of math stuff, including practice tests and games at........
Math Connects Online!

You can access everything except the StudentWorks textbook at this time... I am working on getting the access code for that.  You should be able to access all other features and resources at the site.

Mr. Giardina teaches a lesson!

Ordinary dish soap and some other secret ingredients

Hi, blog readers!  Ethan and Cian worked together on this first guest blogger entry of the year!

Big blog news! Mr. Giardina came to visit our class. First, he used Danielle for the sun and Mikey for the moon. He showed how the earth has a revolution around the sun. He also showed the moon revolves around Earth.

Mr. Giardina's first experiment was a model of the chemical changes in the sun.  He used dish soap and other secret ingredients.  It was like a green explosion!  Chemical changes make energy which we could feel as HEAT in the aluminum tray.

Mr. Giardina's second experiment showed that oil and water never mix.  The swirls we saw as the two were moved around were like the storms we see on Jupiter!  We hope that Mr. Giardina can come back to our room for another lesson very soon!

Chemical change creates energy

Can you feel the heat?

Cian wrote a thank you letter to Mr. G!  Click to make it BIGGER!