Week 5: Curriculum Night

Thanks to everyone who came to Curiculum Night and listened patiently as we talked through some of procedures and units of study common to the Third Grade. If you were unable to make it to the meeting, a copy of the Power Point presentation can be sent home if you request it. just send a note in your child's homework folder.

Here's what will happen next week:

• Schools are closed on Monday and Tuesday for Rosh Hashannah.
• We will have our first Family Friday on October 7. The children will present their All About Me objects in our All About Me Museum. Please join us at 8:30 am.

Have beautiful weekend!

Week 4: October Family Friday and Cluster Schedule

For our first Family Friday of the year, third graders will put on an All About Me exhibit. The following notice went home with your child on Friday, explaining how each child will prepare for this event:

All About Me 

Bag Due Monday, September 26

For our Family Friday on October 7, you will display some “All About Me”artifacts so that we can get to know you better. Please collect 5-6 special objects that represent you.  Place these objects inside the attached bag.  For instance, you could include your favorite book, something that shows your hobby, a souvenir from a fun trip, etc.  Anything you bring in needs to fit inside the bag.  No electronics, expensive items, or anything that might break easily. Please collect your artifacts and bring your bag to school on or before Monday, September 26.  We will prepare some writing to go along with our displays in the days before Family Friday.  Have fun collecting!

Cluster Schedule: 
In addition to daily reading, writing, math, and social studies, the children will also receive instruction from teachers outside the class. We are participating in Art, Computers, Physical Education, Science, Music and Theater Arts classes. Third Grade will  also participated in a Dance enrichment and I will let you know when we have a schedule.

Our weekly schedule looks like this:

·      Monday: Science at 10:10 am with Mrs. Gamboi

·      Tuesday: Art at 9:25 am with Ms. Kelly

·      Wednesday: Physical Education at 9:25 am with Ms. Moore

·      Thursday: Computers at 10:10 am with Mr. DoTran

·      Friday: Theater at 10:10 am with Mr. Gioia followed by Music with Ms. Gabel at 11:00 am

Here's what to expect in the following week:

• We will have our first math test on Thursday. This will wrap up Unit 1 and we will move onto a unit on Representing and Interpreting Data, which includes reading graphs and charts.  
• This Friday, we took a Mid-Chapter Checkpoint Assessment so that students could get a refresher on test conditions. This assessment will be sent home to you on Monday with feed back on areas we could work on to help our children do better on the upcoming Unit 1 test. 
• On Thursday, we will have our Curriculum conference night. This is an opportunity for parents to come and meet teachers in the cluster classes as well as the your child's main teacher. Third Grade teachers will make a presentation in the cafeteria from 6-6:30 pm. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for you to come to our classroom to tour the room. 

Finally, it was great to see so many parents come to our first classroom event. You were an excellent resource as we worked on decorating the children's Writer's Notebooks. The kids are very excited to have their beautiful and personalized notebooks. Thank you for taking the time to come in!

Have an excellent weekend!

Week 3: Birthdays

Thank you to everyone who has been helping with your child's homework routine! Please continue to check that your child has completed their assignments and placed it in their folders. At the end of the week, please sign the bottom of the homework sheet. 

 I want to share the Third Grade policy for birthday celebrations: 

• Please send a note to me prior to the birthday to check that we can have time for the celebration. There will be very busy days when we might not be able to celebrate but we will do our best to fit it in. 
• We have 28 students in our class. Please send in enough treats for everyone. Treat should be portioned/ cut already so that each child can be handed a treat quickly. We have children with nut and dairy allergies so please keep that in mind. 
• Please send in treats that are the same. Sending in treats that are different flavors, sizes, etc. often leads to hurt feelings when a child does not receive a treat they wished for. 

Here's what to expect for next week: 

• Students will begin Writing Workshop for this year. We will start with the the expectations and routines of writing times in class and spend time collecting writing ideas from our life experience. These ideas will be the seeds of the stories we will write in this Personal Narrative unit.
• On Friday the 23, you are invited to come to our classroom to help decorate our Writers Notebooks. Please keep an eye out for a notice with more details in your child's homework folder on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Week 2

The past two school days were a whirlwind of activity. We have been busy sorting supplies and learning about the routines of a third grade class. I am so pleased with how much cooperation I have received from the children, who listened well and asked questions thoughtfully. This will only get even better with time!

I want to thank you all for your patience at dismissal. It will take some time before I recognize all of you and and release your child quickly to you. It has been very helpful for you to make sure I acknowledge you before you leave with your child. Our dismissal spot has been changed from where we were on the first day. We are now standing close to our morning lineup spot. 

Here are some things to note for the upcoming week:

• Schools are closed onMonday for Eid al-Adha. 
• We will begin Readers Workshop the year with a unit on Building a Reading Life. In this unit we will establish expectations and routines for our reading work throughout the year. We will start using our class library and learn to select books we can be successful with. Students will be assessed during this time to update their last second grade reading level.While we will begin using a reading log this week as part of our homework, there will not be a reading response (writing about the reading) due. We plan to begin assigning reading responses in October. 
• We have begun our Math work this year by reviewing some addition concepts. On Friday, we used math during our Move to Improve session. Students had to solve single digit addition facts mentally and show their answer through jumping jacks, which they did with great enthusiasm and accuracy. Please expect that we will have math homework on Tuesday. 
• Social Studies will start with a Unit on the Cultures of the World. We will do some map work and use this to explore aspects of culture like daily life, shelters, language, etc. Be prepare to share more stories about your family's culture with your child.
• Finally, please check your child's homework folder for letters and forms. Many of you took the time out to read and fill out the many forms being sent home at the beginning of the year. Thank you for the prompt response! On Friday, there was a case of head lice and a letter was sent home with your child explaining the situation. Please look out for that. 

Have a wonderful three day weekend!

Welcome to Third Grade!!!

Hi, everyone!
After a lovely summer reading good books and catching Pokemons throughout the city with my nephew, I am pleased to begin the new school year with you! The transition from second grade to third grade is an exciting one and we will have a challenging and fulfilling year.

For the first day, I will meet you at the yard. Please remember school starts at 8:20 am but you should report to the yard by 8:15am. You will only need to bring the marble notebooks and folders from the supply list on the first day.

Please also remember to send your child with a snack for the mid morning. Due to food allergies and children's preferences, we are asking children to bring their own snacks. Third graders have lunch at 12:55 pm so a snack is necessary.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow! Have a great day!