Week 5: Happy October

Time flies! We are already one month into our school year. Our children have settled down into routines and we are now getting into more academic activities in class.

We were so happy to see many family members show up to help decorate your notebooks. The notebooks turned out beautifully and the children enjoyed sharing the stories behind their pictures. It helped to generate excitement as we prepared to launch our writing unit on Personal Narratives! This unit builds on second grade skills learned in the Small Moments unit last year. Our children will think about real life events and use dialogue, description and elaboration to help create stories around their observations.

On Monday, we will have the Chapter 1 math test. We have been working with estimation, addition and subtraction this past unit.  The next chapter, Represent and Interpret Data, will focus on graphs and charts. Addition and subtraction skills will be folded into the work as we read charts and graphs to find totals and differences.

Here's what else to expect next week:

• Math test on Monday. You can use the following link to give your child additional practice if you feel it is needed:  https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/rounding-nearest-ten-or-hundred-only
• We will unveil our All About Me museums during Family Friday. students will display their artifacts and show their first quickly published piece of writing. Please join us at 8:35- 9:15. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 4

It was great to see so many families at the Curriculum Conferences on Friday! I hope we were able to offer you insight to what the Third Grade experience will be like for our children. Many of you offered insight to your child that has been helpful. I know I can count on everyone to continue communicating and supporting each other as the year progresses. Many parents have asked if we needed anything in class. We currently would love to add more books about continents to our library. Please check out our Amazon wishlist on the right side of this post.

Here's what to expect next week:

• We have just begun our Social Studies work with a quick study of the Seven Continents. Students will use nonfiction texts to help learn about the seven continents. Children are reading books about individual continents and thinking about what the author is trying to teach us through the writing.  Children will write a about what they have learned and present it to others.
• The class will visit the school garden with our Garden Parent on Monday afternoon!
• Please continue to collect pictures to decorate your child's Writers Notebook. These picture will serve as inspiration for some of our writing projects this year! Parents are invited to join us after drop off (at around 8:35) on Friday, September 29th to help decorate the notebooks.

Have a wonderful weekend and a happy Rosh Hashanah!

Week 3

My thanks goes to all the families that have turned in the many forms that were sent out on the first days of school. We almost have a class set of each one. If you have not done so, please fill out the lunch form, dismissal form, neighborhood walk form, and photo release form.

I also want to thank everyone who has sent in a note with their child to communicate with me. The children have been very reliable and helpful in making sure I see the notes.

Here are some events to look forward to next week:

• Tuesday, September 19 will be Curriculum Night. Come join the Third Grade teachers in the cafeteria as we give a brief overview of the year to come and then visit our classroom! Cluster teachers will also be speaking about their respective programs. 
• Schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Rosh Hashanah. 

On Friday, September 29th, the Third Grade is inviting parents to come and decorate our Writer's Notebooks. Please keep an eye out for a flyer that will go home next week with more details. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 2: First Full Week

The first two days of class have been exciting and filled with lots of exploration as we got to learn more about our new everythings! The kids have been very sweet and many have been happy to reunite with old friends. Lots of hugs were given and received this week!

Next week, we will begin to settle ourselves into some important routines. Children will begin to receive some written math homework. This usually consist of two pages per night from Monday to Friday. The first page contains calculation problems while the second page contains some mixed review problems from topics learned in previous units. For Monday, the children will only be required to do the even numbered problems on the first page and all the problems on the second page. If your child wants, he or she could also do the odd numbered problems for extra practice. There will be many references to second grade topics in the upcoming units. Please encourage your child to try his or her best but if they are really stuck, we will review it in class.

Children will also begin borrowing books from our classroom library. Students have been eagerly exploring the library in class and learning about the different titles that are available in the classroom. We will focus on fiction books to match our work in Reading Workshop. The first unit in Reading will help our third graders develop reading stamina and routines that will encourage more active and comprehensive reading.

We will also begin using our Writers Notebook to collect story ideas. Using the objects in our All About Me bags as inspiration, we will reflect on important moments, people and memories to help us craft Personal Naratives. Please make sure your child has the All About Me bag on Monday.

Please be aware that there was change made to the Third Grade dismissal routine. Instead of dismissing in the yard, we will dismiss in front of the school entrance on 11th Ave. Our class will wait right next to the entrance. 

Finally, many of you have returned the dismissal form and have been keeping me updated on any changes to your child's pickups. Thank you for making the dismissal routine easier! If you have not done so, please return the many forms sent out as soon as you can.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome Back!!!

Hello, Class 3-303! 

Tomorrow is the start of a brand new school year. I'm excited to finally meet all of the children after reading their sweet letters from second grade. 

Here's few reminders to help you prepare for the first day: 

• Many children have their school supplies delivered to school. If your child did not, please remember that all supplies do not have to be brought in for the first day. We will start with just notebooks and folders for tomorrow so please provide your child with that. Refer to the summer letter that was sent home in August to help determine when to bring in the rest. 
• Each child will need to have a snack for the first day. Lunch will start at 12:55 for third graders. 
• There has been a change to the third grade dismissal. We will dismiss at the main entrance on 11th Avenue at 2:40pm.
•  Here is our weekly special classes schedule:

Monday: Art from 9:25-10:10

Tuesday: Music from 8:35-9:20 and Theater from 10:15-11:00

Wednesday: Physical Education from 10:15- 11:00 (Remember to have your child wear sneakers on this day!)

Thursday: Computers from 9:25-10:10
Friday: Science from 10:15 – 11:00

We will start our school year with Computers tomorrow. 

See you in the yard tomorrow starting at 8:20am!