Newsletter - 10/20/16

October 20, 2016

Dear Families,

Students are excited to have a three day weekend.  Please remember that there is no school tomorrow, Friday October 21st.  If you have not signed up for a parent conference, please contact your child’s classroom teacher as soon as possible.  Thank you!

Math:  We started our new unit this week.  Students used stamp arrays to look at groups (in rows and columns).  Students are finding the link between repetitive addition and multiplication.  We further reinforced this idea with a fun game called “Loops and Groups.”  This game gives students a visual representation of the parts of a multiplication equation.

Spelling: Our spelling test for this last week will be on Monday!  Students can study over the weekend and we will take the test during class on Monday.  Remember, students can access their Spelling City accounts at home!                              

Reading:  Please remember to fill out the reading graph and turn it in every Friday.

Thank you for your support!

Social Science:  Ms. Wright’s class is working on researching a Native American tribe of their choice.  They are learning how to take notes from non-fiction books and web path express web sites.  They are only using these resources at this time.  We do not encourage using Wikipedia or Google at school.

Science: Mrs. Wallis’ class started our new unit, Forces and Motion.  Students are exploring magnetic force.  They were able to investigate what magnets stick to.  In addition, students used string, straws, wooden sticks, and other items to investigate magnetic fields.  We will continue having “Weather Wednesdays” for the rest of the school year, too.

Curriculum Night: Thank you to those of you who attended Curriculum night last night!  You can view our Google Presentation on the team independence blog :  http://teamindependencehcs.blogspot.com/ .

Halloween:  As you know, Halloween is held on a Monday this year.  We will be celebrating in our classrooms from 1:00 - 1:45.  A room parent or teacher will be contacting you regarding food and drinks to donate for our celebration.  Students will be able to wear costumes at the party only.  They will have to change again at the end of the day.  We ask that students do not wear make-up, masks or anything violent (such as blood, swords, guns, etc.)

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Joyce & Kerri

Newsletter 10/14/16

October 14, 2016

Dear Families,

The weather is getting colder so we would like to remind students to wear warm clothing to school.  Many children are getting cold at recess time because they do not have a jacket to wear.  We love taking them outside so we appreciate it very much if they have clothing that is best for the weather.  Thank you for your support!

Math:  We just finished our first math unit, Addition & Subtraction Patterns.  Next week, we will start unit 2, Introduction to Multiplication.  Students should continue practicing their addition and subtraction facts at home.  

Spelling:  Students have spelling tests once a week.  Students should practice their words all week.  They can do the optional spelling activities and/or use Spelling City at home.  We use Spelling City at school and students really enjoy it!                                              

Writing:  We have been working on how to write a good paragraph.  Students are using this information to revise their narratives.

Students are learning to write in cursive.  They need to know how to read cursive writing as they go on to older grades because much of American history is written in cursive.  If you want to teach your child how to write their name in cursive that would be very helpful!

Reading:  This week we have focused on reading fluency which includes phrasing, rate, expression, accuracy and paying attention to punctuation marks.  Later on, they will learn about Reader’s Theater where they will be able to practice what they know about reading fluently!

Social Science:  Ms. Wright’s class has finished learning about the Woodland Indians and are concentrating on the other tribes across North America.  They are also learning about many map skills during our geography time.

Parent Conferences: Parent conferences start next week.  Please contact your child’s teacher if you would like a conference and have not already scheduled one!

Curriculum Night: The third grade Curriculum night will be on Wednesday, October 19th at 5:30.  We hope to see you there!

Picture Retakes:  Picture Retakes will be on Wednesday, October 19th in the morning.  

Halloween:  As you know, Halloween is held on a Monday this year.  We are still deciding what kind of celebration to have for our team and will let you know as soon as possible.

Apology:  I want to apologize as my sign up genius did not go out to parents yet.  I thought it was sent, but something went wrong.  I will send it out after school today.

I am so sorry for this inconvenience!  Thank you for your understanding.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Joyce & Kerri

Newsletter #3 - 9/23/16

Friday September 23, 2016

Dear Families,

It was a wonderful week in third grade.  Students were very busy!  We are settling into our routines and making great progress.  

Literacy: We have completed the reading assessments for all students on our team!  We look forward to using this data to help us personalize your child’s reading instruction.  Next week, we will begin drafting our personal narratives.  Just a reminder that reading graphs are due every Friday.  Thank you for your support!

Math: This week, we continued to practice our addition and subtraction strategies.  We played some great games that reinforced these strategies.  Students can continue working on their basic computation skills at home.  Students have access to Fastt Math and DreamBox through our school website.  The username is your child’s first and last name capitalized (ex. KerriWallis) and the password is math.

Science - We started our “Weather Wednesday” this week.  Students collected temperature data for Hinesburg and an international location.  They will collect data throughout the school year.  At the end of the year, we will take a look at this data and analyze it.  We also learned how to identify different types of clouds, so that we can predict weather.  Students should be looking for these different cloud types in the sky!

Social Science:  Ms. Wright’s class is learning about the Eastern Woodland Indians’ homes called longhouses.  Many families lived in one longhouse together.  Ask your child what else they know about this subject!

Fundraiser

If your child is participating in the Genevieve’s Fundraiser, it is due back to school by October 5th.

PIE Morning Mingle: It was very nice to see parents at the PIE breakfast on Thursday.

Thank you for attending if you were able to do so!  We know how difficult it can be to go to events first thing in the morning!

Drill: We had our first evacuation drill on Thursday.  Our students did an excellent job!  They must remain quiet walking all the way to the church which is not an easy task!  

Have a great weekend!

The Third Grade Teachers

Newsletter #2 - 9/16/16

September 16, 2016

Dear Families,

We successfully completed our first full week of school.  We look forward to learning about students hopes and dreams for this semester as they share their academic and personal goals.   

In math we have finished reviewing our addition strategies and we started our baseline Math Assessments.  Next week we will focus on our subtraction strategies.  We’ve also begun using Dreambox and Fastt Math here at school.  Both of these programs can also be accessed at home.

Our first writing unit will be on narrative writing.  We are focusing  on personal true stories.  Students have been learning different strategies to brainstorm ideas for their stories.  Students are now writing a complete page and will continue to add to the length of their stories.

We’ve enjoyed listening to all our students read as we do our fall assessments.   We are pleased that many of our students maintained their spring levels and are ready to make growth.  Please help remind your child about the significance of practicing their books regularly.  We hope the reading graph is a useful way for students to show their time spent reading.  

In Science, Mrs. Wallis’ class is all set-up for “Weather Wednesday.”  Once a week students will record our local weather and a select location around the world.  We will also continue with our Mystery Science lessons.  Last week students investigated, “Where do clouds come from?”  Next students will get a chance to be meteorologist as they answer the question, “How can we predict when it is going to storm?”  This week we would like students to write and share weather stories.  It can be  a storm the student remembers or they can interview a family member about a storm they recall.  

Mrs. Wright’s class filled out a table to compare different Native American tribes.  We compared where they lived, how they got their food and what their homes looked like.

School pictures will be next Wednesday September 21, 2016.  Students should return their picture forms and money to school by next Wednesday if you would like to purchase their pictures.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Joyce & Kerri

Newsletter #1 - 8/31/16

Welcome to Mrs. Wallis’ Third Grade Class

August 31, 2016

Dear Students, Parents, and Friends,

Welcome to third grade and Team Independence!  I am looking forward to working with all of your children and you this school year.  Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself if I did not meet you at conferences or the HCS Ice Cream Social.

We will have a snack period every morning.  Please provide a healthy snack for your child each day.  If you are unable to do so, please let me know.  I usually have some extra snacks in the classroom.  Students can also get an apple from the cafeteria.

All third grade students will have recess from 12:20-12:40 and lunch from 12:40-1:00.  Since our lunch is late in the day, it is very important that students eat something during our snack period.

Our third graders have an exciting Unified Arts schedule.  This year our class’s schedule is:

Monday- World Language & Library

Tuesday- Music

Wednesday- Art

Thursday- World Language & Physical Education

Friday- Physical Education

During the school year, we will study many different, interesting topics.  Third grade topics include:

Social Science: Science (NGSS):

Native Americans Weather & Climate

Explorers Forces & Interactions

Colonial America Life Cycles

Geography Ecosystems

Students have a Home/School folder.  This folder will be sent home on nights students have papers to share with you or when they have homework.  Please try and return the folder the next day.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  My email address is: kwallis@cssu.org.  I do not always check my email during the school day, so if you need to reach your child during the day, please contact the office.

Sincerely,

Kerri F. Wallis