December 23: Happy Winter Recess

As we say goodbye to the year 2014, I would like to thank you all for the lovely gifts and treats sent in these past weeks.  The class collection was extravagantly generous! I was especially touched by the sweet gifts children and their families made.

Wheen we return on Monday, January 5th, here's what to expect:

• We will have Dance Class on Monday.
• We will begin a new unit in Reading. Students will participate in Mystery Book Clubs. Through the studying the genre of mystery, we will try to achieve the  goals of reading with close attention to details, and forming theories based on those details. Students will also review some of the strategies used in studying characters. By participating in a book club, we will improve our ideas through talking out theories with fellow readers. In book clubs, students are expected to read the same books as the members of their club, actively listen to and discuss ideas and to start setting simple reading goals independently. 
• For the first week back, students will still work on nonfiction reading responses as we will continue to research in our social studies unit. The weekly reading response will still focus on nonfiction texts.
• We will also begin a unit on Opinion Writing. Students will learn the essay format as they write to persuade others to share their ideas on a self selected issue. Students will focus on developing a claim (ex. Sport is an important part of school.) and to support the claim with a variety of details ( facts, observations, quotes, description and data).
• We will have Family Friday on January 9th.

Have a happy and healthy holiday season! Here's to a wonderful 2015!

December 19: Happy Hanukah!

We are bringing 2014 to a close with the Winter Recess starting on Wednesday next week. Several families have already begun their travels. During the break, there will be no written assignments given out but please encourage your child to keep up their independent reading so that we can begin the year strong.

Your child has the Chapter 6 math test in his/ her test folder. It was returned to the class today and they have it in their backpacks. Please look out for it.

Here's what's happening next week:

• We will have our fourth session of Dance class. Please help your child dress for movement.
• The Winter Recess will officially begin on Wednesday. Students are expected to return on Monday, January 5th. 

On Tuesday, we will have a game and craft session to celebrate the holidays. Children may bring a treat  to share with their classmates. 

Have a wonderful sunny weekend!

December 12: Cultural Luncheon

Everyone had an amazing time at our feast this Friday! The food was top notch and there was a great balance in the dishes offered so our kids were able to make healthy choices. I really appreciate all the help the our volunteers gave us and all the work everyone put into sharing their culinary specialty. Every child went back for more and more of the yummy foods!  We could not have done it without you!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We will have Dance class on Monday. Please have your child dressed for movement and girls should not wear footed tights. 
• Your child received their Unit 6 Mid Chapter Checkpoint today. Please review it and sign the top portion of the slip before returning it to class. 
• We will meet with our Buddies this Wednesday. Third graders have done an excellent job of nurturing the kindergarteners! 
• The Unit 6 Math test will take place on Thursday. 

Have a happy,  sunny weekend!

December 5

We were delighted to have so many of you come visit our shelter museum! The kids were excited to share the work they've done studying a shelter from a different culture. The kids were super excited to receive all this compliments from you!

Here's what's happening next week:

• We have our second session of Dance on Monday. Please have your child dress for movement. Girls were reminded on Friday to not wear footed tights as we might have to go barefoot during  class.
• Please expect your child's Chapter 5 math test returned to you on Monday. Thank you for your patience as we needed an absentee to make up the test before we could take them home. We have already begun our unit on division. Students are finding that mastery of the multiplication facts will help them greatly with division facts. We have had some great math talks about division as a concept of fair sharing and creating equal groups from a large amount. 
• Music will take place on Tuesday. Your child needs his/ her recorder in class on that day. 
• We have the Third Grade Cultural Luncheon on Friday! I really appreciate everyone's donation of a special dish from your families culture and the children are beyond excited for this! A letter went home today to families who volunteered to donate plates and utensils. Please keep an eye out for those and thank you for taking on this extra contribution! I will contact you next week if you have volunteered to help set up or clean up.
• Here is a copy of the menu from our class so far. This will be combined with dishes from the other third grade classes so we'll have plenty of choices for this feast! Most children will need only about a tablespoon sized portion, so please do not feel you have to produce a massive amount of food for everyone. If you have not already done so please send a list of ingredients so that children can make informed choices about what they are eating, especially if a child has an allergy. 

Entrées	Desserts	Sides
Lasagna	Apple pie	Southern Biscuits
Enchiladas	Israeli dessert	Irish Soda Bread
Curry wurst	Sweet Potato Pie	Potato Latkes
Middle Eastern rice	Mint Chocolate brownies	Guacamole and chips
Lumpiang Shanghai	Japanese sweet potato cake	Irish Brown Bread
Schnitzel in pita	Biscuits
Fried chicken	Chocolate chip cookies
Tamago-yaki (Japanese egg omelet)
Canadian Meat pie

Have a wonderful weekend!

November 26: Happy Thanksgiving!!

This short week brings November to an end and we are already into the holiday season! We had a fun and active day working on our shelter models, making a construction paper turkey for ourselves and our Kindergarten buddies and learning about Thanksgivings' origin!

Here's what to expect for next week: 

• We will need your response to the Cultural Luncheon letter by Friday so that we can plan out the event. Please fill out this form and return it with your child. 
• Third Grade will start a dance program as part of our enrichment program on Monday. Our teaching artist, Ms. Janet from the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, will help us explore culture through movement. For  this program, please have your child dress in comfortable clothes. Your child might be asked to remove their shoes and socks. Girls should avoid wearing footed leggings/ stocking on Mondays as it can become very slippery to move on the floor. 
• There will be a math test on Tuesday. We have finished unit 5 which dealt with multiplication skills being applied to bigger numbers and patterns.
• You are invited to view our Shelter Projects on Family Friday. 

Please check out our videos on the right side of this blog. We have two videos on our playlist and will be adding more as the weeks progress. 

Have an excellent Thanksgiving!

November 21

Brrr! After a chilly week, we can look forward to some warmer weather coming up this weekend! If your child has lost a glove or a hat, etc., please check in the Multimedia Room where the Lost and Found is located.

Check out the new feature on our blog, the class video playlist! I will begin posting videos that show snippets of what we are doing in school. Our very first video features Regie as she performs "Hot Cross Bun" on the recorder. This is impressive because this is only the second time we've practiced this in music class!

Here's what else to expect this week:

• On Monday, a letter will go home regarding the Third Grade's Annual Cultural Luncheon. We are inviting families to share a dish that represents their family's culture, whether it be Italian, Chinese, or Brooklyn. Please look over the letter for more details and respond as soon as possible. 
• Due to the shortened school week, there will be a change in the reading response homework. Students will not be required to produce a written response during the week of November 24. Instead, they will focus on note taking from their nonfiction books during their reading in class. We will use those notes for an upcoming response assignment. 
• Schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

November 14: Beginning of the Second Marking Period

My thanks to everyone who made it out to Parent Teacher Conferences for being patient and having informative conversations with me about the children. The time allotted was brief but we will continue to communicate so that we can best help the kids have the best learning experiences possible. There were no Friday updates in the homework folders this week but I will resume writing them next week.

Here's what's coming next week:

• We are starting a new reading unit on Monday. This unit will focus on Nonfiction Reading and the goal is to help our readers to not just accumulate facts, but to think about how these facts build a larger meaning. We will work more intensively on locating a main idea and important supporting details. We will also look at what the purpose of the text is and how the structure of the text (compare and contrast, pros and con, etc.) helps convey the author's message to the reader. Nonfiction reading skills can be applied to content areas like Social Studies and Science, so this is an exciting unit for our kids!
• The Unit 4 math test was given today so we will start Unit 5 on Monday, which takes the basic multiplication facts we have learned and applies them to other problems with larger numbers. 
• After missing some Tuesdays, we will have Music class again. Many children have brought their recorders home but please make sure they are brought back to class for this Tuesday's class. 
• We will meet with our Kindergarten Buddies again this Wednesday. We visited Mrs. David's class this Wednesday to meet our new friends. Our third graders were so helpful and did an excellent job of helping the younger students write about their favorite things!

If you have not returned your child's report card, please do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation!

Have a wonderful weekend!

November 7: End of The First Marking Period

Family Friday was well attended and we all had a great time helping our children learn about the healthy choices we make everyday as we nourish ourselves. Chef Jen prepared a delicious hummus and we enjoyed it with some lovely baby carrots from Henry's mom. The time spent talking with our children about good nutrition is so important and I thank you all for your participation! Special thanks to Evan's mom, Regie's mom, and Lulu's mom for planning and leading the workshop.

Here's what to expect next week:

• Schools are closed on Tuesday for Veterans Day. 
• We will visit the book fair on Wednesday at noon. Students will be given the opportunity to shop for books. If you would like for your child to purchase books, please provide your child with money for that day. Books range from $5- $20. The book fair will also be opened during Parent Teacher Conferences. 
• Report cards will be given out on Wednesday.
• Parent Teacher conferences will take place on Thursday. There is an early dismissal for the half day at 12 noon.  You should have received a note with your appointment time, which is also noted in your child's homework folder. Please be punctual so that we do not infringe on another family's schedule. 
• There will be a math test on Friday as we draw a close to Unit Four. 

Have an excellent weekend!

October 31: Happy Halloween!

We wrapped up our week and October with some fun activities. The kids were happy to participate in Wacky Wardrobe Day and Halloween puzzles in the afternoon gave us an opportunity to enjoy time with our friends.

Your child has a Mid Chapter review for the current math unit on Multiplication facts. Please look it over and detach the bottom chart for your reference. Return the rest with your child on Monday. Thank you!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We ended our study of The Seven Continents with the Salt Dough Maps, which are currently on display outside our room. This week, we will begin an exploration of what makes up Cultures Around the World. To help your child, you can have talks about your family's cultures and traditions. In the few discussions we've had so far, students have been eager to share facts about the foods they eat, the games they play and objects of cultural significance. This is a very exciting unit for the kids! It will culminate in the Third Grade's Cultural Food Festival on December 12. There will be more information coming about this event. 
• Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Thursday. November 13th. Please keep an eye out for a notice informing you of the details and asking you for your preference of meeting time. This will be distributed on Monday. 
• Schools will be closed on Election Day (Tuesday) for students. 
• November 7 will be our second Family Friday. It will focus on healthy life styles. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

October 24

We had a busy week with the start of music class, andd armory visit and the launch of new units in math and writing. The math test was sent home on Wednesday in a blue test folder. Please keep an eye out for it if you have not reviewed it with your child.

Please make it a part of your Friday routine to have your child empty their homework folder of old notices and checked homework. This will keep teh folder from being too cluttered.

Here's what's coming for next week:

• Music class will take place on every Tuesday. Please make sure your child brings their blue recorder back to class.
• I will be absent on Wednesday for jury duty.

Have a great weekend!

October 17: Have a happy BOO Bash!

My thanks to all families for sending the salt dough for our fun mapping activity. The kids were very excited to participate and we look forward to showing our finished products soon!

Here's what's happening next week:

• Our math unit, Multiplication Concepts, has come to an end and we will have our test on Monday. 
• We are headed to the Armory on Tuesday. Please make sure your child wears sneakers. 
• We are also starting our Music program on Tuesday. Mr. Kiah will teach our third graders vocal music and how to play the recorder.
• We are starting a new writing unit on Tuesday. Children will begin to learn how to write informational pieces. The focus of this unit is to develop writing that informs or teaches others a topic of a child's expertise. We will look at organizing and writing information on topics we know a lot about so we can share that knowledge with readers. Please help your child get ready for this work by discussing topics that they know a lot about. Usually, it's a hobby, a certain type of pet, or an interest. It will be great for your child to get a reminder of what they know. 
• Wednesday is Picture Day! We are scheduled to have our photos taken at 12:20 ( before lunch). 

Have a fabulous fun weekend!

October 10

Fall is here and it seems like the cools weather will stick. We've had some colds this week so we will review using tissues and covering our sneezes. Please reinforce this practice as home.

Here's what's happening next week:

• School will be closed on Monday for Columbus Day!We are ending our first reading unit Building a Reading Life and moving on to Character Study. In this new unit, we will closely examine characters and how authors use characters to teach us lessons about ourselves and life.  
• There will be a new weekly reading response prompt to reflect the new unit. This response will focus on making an idea about a character's traits based on evidence from the story. Traits are words that describe a dominant personality quality for a character. Often times it can be confused with a feeling. A character can feel happy most of the time and therefore be easy going or positive.  Evidence can include the characters actions, thoughts/ feelings, and others say about the character. 
• Our book orders have arrived and were given out on Friday. A new book order was given out and for families who are interested in buying books, the order is due by next Friday. You can also order online at Scholastic.com using the class code on the sticker on front of the order sheet. 

Have a great three day weekend!

October 3

Wow! Time flies at supersonic speeds as we say goodbye to our first month of school. We have settled into our routines and are getting into our more intense academic work.

The first Math test was administered on Wednesday and returned to your child today. Most children did very well. A letter and progress report was sent home with the test. Please review the documents and return the test with your child. There were some suggestions for additional practice with the IXL Games link on this blog. Please do not feel it is a requirement; you and your child can decide if the additional practice is something to take on.

A form went home today asking for your information as well as reminding you to fill out the blue card online if you have not already done so. The link is http://ps154.org/students/blue-card/ . Our class parent is trying to create a class directory. Please send in the completed form as soon as you can.

Here's what's coming next week:

• We are headed to the Armory next Tuesday! Please make sure your child is dressed for physical activity and wearing sneakers. 
• We have started our new math unit called Understanding Multiplication. This unit focuses on the concepts of multiplication so that students can recognize situations that would call for multiplication in real life situations.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Yom Kippur to our families who observe this holiday!

September 24

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all our families who observe this holiday!
Please be aware that schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

Here's some of what we will be doing next week:

• All about Me Bags are due for Monday. As your child chooses the 5-6 items, please take the time to help him/ her talk about the items. You might ask him/ her to tell about the significance of the object and what it tells about your child. 
• We will have our first math test on Wednesday. In addition to the work found on the Mid Chapter Review, subtraction was also reviewed. We've also taken time to practice estimation and how to use it in problems that also require us to solve afterwards. It has been recommended that students round to the highest place value (hundreds instead of tens) in those cases so that the estimation can be done more easily and the bulk of our efforts can be used to finish the addition/ subtraction carefully.
• We will have our first Family Friday on October 2 at 8:35am. Please join us as we share the contents of our All About Me bags. 

Have a wonderful long weekend!

September 19

My thanks go out to the parents who took the time to come to our first family activity of this year. We were able to decorate our notebooks and have them covered in transparent contact paper. The kids love their Writer's Notebooks. It's great to start our writing experience with a spiffy book we're proud to have!

Here are some things to look out for:

• On Thursday, your child received their Mid-Chapter Checkpoint. It's an review of the skills your child has practice so far and the purpose is to see what we can work on before the Unit 1 test. The sheet in the front contains a tear off that should be returned to school. Please keep an eye out for that document. For those of you who have already signed and returned the tear off, thank you for your speedy response!
• Please look at the bottom of this week's homework sheet. There is a brief comment from me regarding your child's week in school. Usually, it highlights something your child did well and/or outlines a goal we are working on. Please review and sign it so I know you have read it. 
• Your child received a set of book orders today. The online code for our class is attached to the first page with a sticker. You should be able to order on Scholastic.com using that code. If you do not want to order online, please send in the order form and the money by next Monday, September 29.
• Also due on September 29 is the All About Me Bag. It is to prepare for an activity for our First Friday. Please read the flyer inside the Ziploc bag. If you have any questions please send me a note or let's chat at dismissal. 
• Finally, school will be closed on Thursday and Friday due to Rosh Hashanah.

Have an awesome weekend!

September 12

This week, our focus was on learning and carrying out routines. We've introduced the homework routine and we are reinforcing group routines such as waiting for turns, etc. The children have been great about working together as a team! Many students have been able to take on the routines with independence. Great job, everyone!

Please check your child's homework folder for comments this week. Each Friday, a short comment will be entered onto the bottom of the assignment sheet. This is intended to give you a sense of how your child's week was and what your child did well with or might need help with.

Here's some of what we can expect for next week:

• We will have Curriculum Conferences this year at 6:00pm on Tuesday in our school cafeteria. The third grade teachers will give a 30 minute presentation of the curriculum before we break for Open Classroom. During Open Classroom, you will get a chance to visit your child's classroom and speak to me about the routines in our specific classroom. 
• Photos for Writer's Notebooks are due on Monday. On Friday, we will take the photos to decorate our books. If you would like to join us, you are welcome to come to our class room at 8:35am. We will cut and paste photos to the covers of the book and use contact paper to help secure it onto the cover. 

Have a restful weekend!

September 5: Our First Two Days

It's been a whirlwind of new names, new routines, new supplies and new everything! Thank you for your support and I am especially grateful to our students who have been great listeners. The class has been cooperative and willing to learn the ropes of the third grade with a lot of pluck. We are settling into good group habits such as listening attentively and helping each other.

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We will continue to collect supplies for our classroom. If you did not purchase a school tool box for your child, we are expecting the following items: 

Monday, September 8th

¨ 1  pair 5”  blunt child safety scissors

¨ 5  rolls of Bounty paper towels

¨ 2  Wet Ones Hand wipes containers

¨ 1 box Ziploc sandwich bags, 50 count

¨ 1 pack wide rule loose leaf paper

Tuesday, September 9th

¨ pencil sharpener with receptacle

¨ 1  pack 9” x 12” construction paper, assorted colors

¨ 1  pack 18” x 12” construction paper assorted colors

¨ $2.50 (for Art class)

¨ $5.00 for National Geographic subscription

¨ 1 package of Dry-erase Markers, chisel tip (Asst. color 4 pack)

¨ Scotch tape   (Somehow, we received an excessive amount of tape in the school tool boxes and will not need any more.) 

• We will start our homework routine on Monday. Students will receive their reading log and will learn how to complete it. In addition to reading, there will also be some math work heading home. Your child has a homeework folder with a label affixed to the front. Please read the label with your child. 
•  Our first unit in Math is Adding and Subtracting Up to 1,000.
• Our prep schedule looks like this: Monday=Computers, Tuesday= Art, Wednesday= Theater, Thursday= Science, and Friday = Gym. Please make sure your child wears clothing suitable for physical activity on Friday, including sneakers. 

I want to thank you all for your warm greeting the first days of this school year. I look forward to meeting everyone throughout the year. 

Have a great weekend!

September 4, Day 1

How quickly our lovely summer goes! I hope everyone is well and rested. By now, you've received your letters regarding your place in this class. There is an important change to our schedule regarding lunchtime.

Our lunch period this year will start at 12:55, which is a long time from breakfast!  We will having a mid-morning break during which students can use the bathroom, get water and eat a snack they have brought from home. Please send a healthy snack with your child each day. While not limited to those listed, here are some popular snacks that work well in our classroom setting:

• Baked chips/ multigrain chips
• Fruits/veggies (apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, baby carrots, celery sticks, etc)
• Pretzels
• Raisins
• Popcorn
• Granola bars
• Crackers
• Cheese sticks
• Graham crackers
• Cheerios
• Fig bars
• Dried fruit
• Animal crackers
• Breadsticks
• Flatbreads
• Rice cakes
• Fruit leathers
• Seaweed

Please keep in mind that snack time is usually a time for independent reading or writing tasks, so snacks that can be easily held are ideal.

 

I look forward to seeing you all very soon. We will meet at the school yard at 8:20am on Thursday. Have a great final day of summer recess!

Welcome!

Here is the place to get all the news regarding your child's third grade class. As you enjoy a relaxing summer, please feel free to come to this site and encourage your child to play with the math games and various other links that will give your child some early experience with the topics we will explore in the third grade.
See you in September!