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August 18, 2008
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 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.
Homework: Some homework will be assigned most every week day and, on
occasion, the weekend. Unfinished homework will also be done the following
night for extra 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. I keep track of late work unless there is
an extenuating circumstance such as illness and a note of explanation.
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. Thank you for your help in teaching your child responsibility.
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, return the empty folder, and keep the
papers.
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. If your child has a
summer birthday, it can be celebrated at the ˝ birthday or at a time of your
choosing. Snack time is approximately 10:00 a.m. 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, Wacky Web Tales, etc.
Math: The third grade will use the brand new and 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.
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.
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 are pleased with our Science Series - Harcourt Science.
This is a hands-on approach to Science which focuses on different concepts
each year. Third grade focuses on Life, Earth, and Physical Science. 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 second 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
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