August 17, 2009
Dear Third Grade Students and Parents,
Welcome to the third grade at OLL! I hope you all had a restful summer.
I am looking forward to working with you and your child and have heard many
good things about our rising third graders. I consider it a real privilege
that you have placed him/her in my care. As many of you already know, one of
the things that make OLL so successful is the support of the parents working
closely with the teachers. Your volunteer time and efforts are greatly
appreciated and rewarded in the growth and enrichment of your children.
Soon I will have that opportunity to get to know your child and his/her
learning styles. If you have any questions or concerns, please send a note
with your child in the morning or call the office to set up an appointment
for a conference or phone call.
Book Covers: As I am sure you are all aware, all textbooks need to be
covered. The hard covered books should be covered with cloth or paper book
covers. The soft covered books should be covered in CLEAR contact paper.
Please help your child label all books and supplies.
Student Supplies: It is very important that your child have all the
supplies that are included on the list for third grade. This really helps
the school year run smoothly from the beginning. Composition books will be
labeled at school. We do not need pencil boxes. Please send in a regular
size box of tissues that the class can use as the year progresses. The third
grade supply list is available in the school office, or you can view it on
the website.
Homework: Some homework will be assigned on most week days and, on
occasion, on the weekend. Unfinished homework will also be done the
following night for additional homework. You and your child will know well
in advance about upcoming tests, assignments, projects and reports.
Encourage your child to realize the importance of turning in assignments when
they are due. Your child will copy his assignments from the board every day
in his/her homework pad so please check this over on a daily basis. The
homework is posted on my website each week and a copy is sent home every
Monday in the weekly newsletter.
Making up Homework: If your child is ill for several days, arrangements
can be made to make up the important work. If your child is absent for one
day, work can be made up upon return. I will save work to be completed for
your child.
Grading: Grades (S-Satisfactory, N-Needs help, U-Unsatisfactory) are
based on many criteria such as mastery of the subject, class participation,
cooperation, promptness in turning in assignments, class work, homework
tests, and neatness. Graded papers and tests will be sent home every week.
Please sign and date the folder, keep the papers, and return the empty folder.
Birthdays: Birthdays are always a special event for everyone. Children
are allowed to wear dress clothes on their special day and bring in a snack
to share with the class. Please do not send in drinks as they are not
allowed on the carpeting. Water will be provided. Snack time is
approximately 10:00 a.m. If your child has a summer birthday, it can be
celebrated at the ½ birthday or at a time of your choosing. Just let me know
which day is good for you and your child.
Wednesday Mailer: Brown envelopes concerning school news are sent home
every Wednesday. This envelope should be covered in clear contact paper so
it will last the length of the school year. Please return this envelope the
following day along with any necessary notes or fees. Thank you, in advance,
for attending to this matter.
Reading: We will start off the year with the famous Readfest Program.
This is a wonderful way to kick off the beginning of 3rd grade as it
challenges the children to read. The party at the end of Readfest is
exciting for the children and reinforces our belief that reading is important
and fun. Our “Dr Seuss” reading program begins in January and ends in March
on Theodore Geisel’s birthday.
We will use the Harcourt Reading Program as well as reading some fine
third grade literature together. We will cover one reading story per week as
a class. Students will be tested on vocabulary, comprehension, and phonics
on Thursdays each week from the reading story.
Centers: Many enjoyable centers await your child too, such as Little
Explorers (introduction to research on the Internet), Religion Thinkers,
Letter Writing, Exploring Electronics, Chess, 3D puzzles, The Never Ending
Story, Using a Thesaurus, Creative Writing, and Wacky Web Tales.
Math: The third grade will use the highly rated Sadlier-Oxford Math
program. This Program is loaded with hands-on activities and all of the pages
for class work and homework are prepared by the publisher in textbook and
workbook form. The children will be required to memorize the multiplication
tables through twelve. We will begin with the x7 facts first around
Halloween. We play “Around the World” and other fun math games in school to
reinforce learned facts, but it is also helpful to practice the facts using
flashcards at home.
Math Superstars: Math Superstars is a non-graded math challenge program
that will be handed out on Monday and returned by Friday. This is above and
beyond the regular math program, but it really challenges the students to
interpret and work through multi-level word problems. It is designed to
incorporate parent involvement. Your job will be to guide and perhaps give a
definition of a word not yet learned like “perimeter”. The children are
encouraged to complete the 1 and 2 star problems, and to try the 3 and 4
stars. So, as you can see, there is a lot to accomplish and enjoy this
school year.
Spelling: You can find the spelling words under “Spelling Words” on my
website. Spelling tests are given each Friday.
Cursive Writing: The children will learn the lowercase and uppercase
cursive letters. They will use only cursive writing beginning by the end of
October.
English: Daily Oral Language—The students apply capitalization and
punctuation rules that they have learned in this activity. Each morning
the children complete two analogies and correct two sentences that have been
written incorrectly on the Promethean board. The students enjoy these
opening activities, and I feel that they are learning a great deal from these
short lessons. We use the Harcourt Text to learn how to write. We will work
on paragraph writing, writing a friendly letter, addressing an envelope,
writing about you, writing a book report etc. We will study dictionary and
library skills, and we will work on grammar, correct usage, and mechanics.
Phonics: We will use the Modern Curriculum Phonics program. The
children will complete seven units of study.
Writer-in-Residence: This year the children will have the opportunity
to do a week-long workshop with the highly acclaimed North Carolina
children’s author, Suzanne Newton. She will show the students writing
strategies that will help to improve their written language skills. This
workshop will take place at the end of January.
Religion: In addition to addressing the normal curriculum, I try to
incorporate our faith into each subject area as much as possible. For
example, in computer class the students choose a saint to write about and use
KidPix to paint their saints’ symbols.
We read about and discuss one saint each day using the Church’s
Calendar. The children will learn the following prayers this year: The
Morning Offering, Apostles’ Creed, Psalm 23, and prayer to St. Michael, the
Archangel. And lastly, each week they will memorize one Bible verse and then
try to incorporate that message into their daily lives.
Science: We will use the brand new Scott Foresman Science Series this
year, which for third grade focuses on a hands-on approach to Life, Earth,
and Physical Science. The children will love this hands-on approach to
science as it relates science to real life; for example, in one experiment,
they will create individual volcanoes, all erupting in different colors, and
in another, they will “mine” raisin cookies for “natural resources”. We will
use the scientific process each time that we conduct our weekly
investigations. You can find the science words under “Science” on my website.
Social Studies: Our book, Communities, compares communities from the
past and present. Students will learn to use different kinds of maps. They
will measure distances using a map scale. We will read short biographies of
American Heroes such as Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King,
Benjamin Franklin, and Amelia Earhart. In the last quarter, we will have a
50 states competition. In this unit, the children will learn to locate each
state, give its capital and abbreviation, and answer one trivia fact for each
state.
PE: PE is held every week. PE uniforms and tennis shoes must be worn to
school on this day. Adhering to proper gym dress is greatly appreciated. If
you have any other questions concerning school policy on this, please refer
to the handbook.
Promethean ACTIVboard: This is our third year with this wonderful
technology. By the end of last year, many of the children used the
ACTIVboard to do PowerPoint presentations that they had developed at home.
They used flash drives to transfer their presentations to my computer! The
Promethean Activclassroom provides opportunities for the children to expand
their knowledge base by using many of the 22,000 + software applications to
delve more deeply into the subjects we are studying.
The software that is used with the ACTIVboard has applications for counting
money, telling time, developing map skills, using graphic organizers for
writing, and much more. It also serves as a huge TV screen for watching
educational DVDs. Children can take an online field trip to a museum, fly
over the Mississippi using Google Earth, or see a microscopic view of a
meteorite chip! This new and innovative technology is a powerful interactive
tool that can touch every student’s learning style, whether they are visual,
tactile, or auditory learners.
Store: Another classroom activity that you are sure to hear about
is “STORE”. Students earn fake coins during the day and add the coins to
trade in at our classroom store. Students add money amounts up to five
dollars which is a great way to reinforce money concepts learned in 3rd grade.
Behavior Management: Classroom rules are posted. The Golden Rule is our
motto. A check system is used to record behavior grades. 0-2 checks per
week is A behavior, 3-5 is a B, 6-8 is a C, 9-11 is a D, and anything beyond
that is unacceptable. Students receiving an A for the week get an extra
recess period on Fridays! A weekly grade for your child will be sent home
each week in the Monday folder.
I am sure that working together as a team will bring out the best in
your child. Again, I look forward to a wonderful year and thank you again for
ALL you do. I pray that God will bless us with wisdom and patience to help
your child grow spiritually, emotionally, and
academically.
Sincerely,
Chris Brennan
