Back
to School Night
September
06, 2012
Welcome
3rd
Grade Parents!
I
am really excited to begin a new year with such an amazing group of
3rd
graders! Here is a brief overview of what you can expect this year.
If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
Daily
Schedule
Mr.
Harvey will be teaching 3rd
grade math in our classroom. If you have any questions regarding
math, please email him directly at r.harvey@chpcs.org
Mrs. Cantin will be teaching Math 5/4 for those students who travel
to math. Her email address is d.cantin@chpcs.org
Mr.
Harvey and I are also partnering this year for Guided Reading. We
will be having reading groups and centers daily from 10:00-10:30 and
I would love to have a parent volunteer during this time to help
monitor and assist independent workers. If you are available and
interested, please let me know. Thank you!
What
do we learn about in 3rd
grade?
Core Knowledge Units:
|
Fall
|
Spring
|
|
13 Colonies
|
Early Explorers
|
|
Animals:
Vertebrates
|
Ancient Rome
|
|
Earliest Americans
|
Ecology
|
|
Human Anatomy
(bones & muscles)
|
The Solar System
|
|
Canada
|
Geography/Rivers of
the World
|
|
Vikings
|
Human Body: Eyes
(light/optics)
Ears
(sound/hearing)
|
Do you, or someone you know, have a
particular interest or experience that relates to one of our units? I
am always looking for local Experts to enrich our curriculum. Please
let me know if you have something or someone to share with us!
Throughout
the year, we use the Riggs curriculum for spelling and writing, as
well as Institute
for Excellence in Writing.
We do a
lot
of writing in 3rd
grade! We will also learn Getty
and Dubay Italic Cursive
this year. We usually start cursive after the winter break, after a
few months of focusing on quality, legible printing. At home, you can
help your student remember to slow down and focus on proper letter
formation when completing homework.
Field Trips
Our
first field trip of the year is on September 27th
. We will be traveling to the Old Aurora Colony to experience what
life was like in Colonial times! Drivers needed, so please see the
office to complete all volunteer requirements ASAP if you are
interested. (Note this is a THURSDAY trip: we will leave at noon and
be back by 3:30.) Field trip Fridays are instructional days-
students are expected to be on campus from 8:00-3:30, in uniform.
Please try to schedule long weekends and appointments on the 3 other
Fridays of each month!
Planners, Homework, and Projects
In
3rd
grade, we have homework every night! Once we get into the swing of
things, you can expect Riggs/spelling every night, and math most
nights. There will also be writing, history, or science, but those
will not be the same every day. PLEASE
check your child's planner every night to see what we're doing. In
addition to the daily work, each unit generally has a Family Project.
These are assigned 3-4 weeks before they are due. Project
information, including directions and grading rubric, will be sent
home (and be emailed out, and available on our class webpage!) Our
first project, a Colonial Travel Brochure, should be assigned in the
next week.
In addition to homework, your
student's planner is also how I will communicate with you how your
child's day went. Every afternoon, students will record what color
they “landed on”. This becomes a running record, and it is
essential that the planner be brought to and from school every day,
checked by a parent, and initialed. Thank you for your cooperation!
Falcon Five and our School-wide
Behavior Policy
All
students at CHPCS are expected to follow the “Falcon Five”-
Falcons are Respectful,
Resourceful, Responsible, Tolerant, and Safe.
We have also created a color-coded system that will be the same in
ALL classes. In 3rd
grade, we have colored cards that are flipped as a student moves
through the levels. They are:
Green-
Everyone starts here each day- Keep it up!
Yellow-
1st
warning (no “verbal only” warning this year). Please note, this
is JUST A WARNING. We all slip up, and having a yellow means just
that. Could you go an ENTIRE day without making ANY mistakes? I know
I couldn't!
Orange-
A 2nd
warning
Blue-
Time out. Student will take a short break from the situation to
reflect before speaking to the teacher and re-entering the group.
Red-
At red, there will be a logical consequence connected to the
behavior, and the parent is notified, either by phone or email,
depending on the situation. Red is either a '4th
warning' for small behaviors, or a '1st
time' for actions that endanger self or others.
Hot
Pink-
student is removed from the classroom. This is an office Referral and
will be followed up by administration. Referrals also require a
conference with the parent, teacher, and administrator.
A Full copy of our school-wide
discipline policy is included at the front of every student's planner
as well as available on the CHPCS website.
In
conjunction with the consequences above, we also have several
Positives
to help children learn to make good choices! In class, we have
whole-class and table-group “points” that are collected to earn
rewards, such as an extra recess, a game, or more library time.
Students can also earn Tickets, which they collect and turn in for
rewards (we have several to choose from for 10-100 tickets!)
School-wide, Falcon Bucks are back! Students will be able to use
their Falcon Bucks to enter in a raffle held at each month's
all-school assembly!
Volunteer Opportunities
As
mentioned above, field trips and literacy helpers are just 2 ways you
can help with 3rd
grade. If you are interested in helping out, either on campus or at
home- volunteers are always welcome! This year Mrs. Williams and Mrs.
Dorr are our co-room parents. They will be helping me throughout the
year. If you have time or energy you'd like to donate, please let one
of us know!
Communication
The
best way to reach me is by email. If you have something arise during
the day that needs immediate attention, please phone the office. My
primary method of communication will also be email. If you do not
have email or have another preferred style (letters, phone, text..)
please let me know.
We also have a class blog, which will be in place of the traditional
'newsletter' this year. Ideally it will be updated frequently
throughout the week, and will include news and announcements,
upcoming events, as well as photos and updates of what's happening in
the classroom. Please go to http://chpcs3rdgrade.blogspot.com
and
'subscribe' to receive automatic notifications when updates occur!
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
Fall
conferences this year are the week of October 26- November 2nd
. A sign-up sheet is available outside our classroom door, or you can
email me with a preferred day/time, and I will do my best to
accommodate. I look forward to working with each of you this year to
make 3rd
grade an extraordinary experience for your student!
Thank you for coming tonight! Let me
know if you have any questions that I may have missed! And, thank you
for sharing your child with me!
Ms. Mahn
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