Announcements

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May 2013
Dear Parents
The third grade is currently in first place in the box top/labels for education contest! Thank you in advance for keeping the labels coming in!
We have been studying time and some of the kids are struggling some. I think there are so many digital clocks in our world these days that telling time is less of a given than it once was. Try to reinforce this skill at home by talking to your child about time. We are going to be reviewing this concept a little each day for the rest of the year. If you are inclined to buy your child an analog watch it might be helpful!
We finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone today! The drama! I think we all really enjoyed getting into this book and comparing the book to the movie throughout the reading- even though our Venn diagram (comparing the two) got filled up after a few chapters! Many of the kids are already reading the sequels. These would be good choices for summer reading. Remember, it's very beneficial to read to your children at ANY age and sometimes with more advanced books like the HP series this is necessary to keep them interested. It still counts as reading!!
We still need four more half-gallon cartons in order to plant our lima beans in soil. The ones we planted in bags with wet paper towels are sprouting- it's exciting! But we need to do the soil ones to be able to observe, compare, and draw scientific
conclusions!
Times tables are going great. We are doing well on our timed tests each week and will keep it up for the rest of the year.
Thank you so much for all you do!

Mrs. Cordon


March 20, 2013
Hello Parents
      Spring Break is almost upon us!
      We had such a great time today at the Star Lab at the Cape Fear Museum. We were able to show off all we have learned about the solar system- a lot! The trip was a great review for our science test tomorrow. The kids were given review sheets yesterday; please help them with the material tonight.
      We also have a religion test tomorrow on Chapter 11. The test will be open-book. All the important sections are highlighted. Still, they should review those highlighted sections.
If your child has been baptized, please take a minute to discuss his or her baptism tonight. This is a religion assignment from our Lenten workbook.
      The spelling test this week (Friday) is on the science words introduced last week. There have been no assignments with the words, but students should be studying them.
      I will be sending home some times tables sheets to keep our facts fresh over the break!


--
Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values






January 25, 2013

Dear Parents
Report cards went home today! I am very pleased with everyone's progress. Please sign the report card and send it to school with your child by the end of next week. Remember that Krispy Kreme gives out up to 6 donuts for A's on report cards, so you might want to swing by there before handing yours in! Rita's also gives out ices for good reports cards- although ice might not be what you're craving this weekend!!

This coming week is Catholic Schools Week. There are activities planned for each day of the week. A flyer which outlines all of these activities was sent home with your child today. This information is on the school website as well. Be sure to remember there is a Super Bowl themed dress-down day on Monday!
We have run out of erasers in the classroom, so you might want to buy some for your child's use for the rest of the year. If anyone would like to send some in for the use of the class- that would be great, also. Many of the kids have little hand-held pencil sharpeners, and they are very helpful in the classroom. This way a student can sharpen his/her pencil independently without any fuss or distractions. If your student does not have a pencil sharpener and you could provide one, it would be most appreciated. Do please buy the type that catches the shavings if you don't mind. :)
I hope your children told you how much fun we had with our seventh grade buddies creating Prezis (ask your child what they are!) about the water cycle. We are working on getting those Prezis available for your viewing. Will let you know! Be sure to have your child sing the water cycle song for you, as well! We are water cycle experts! Next up- solar system!
Have a great (maybe white) weekend!


Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values






January 11, 2012

Hello Parents!
We've had a great week! As you have probably heard, we finally have our Smartboard! It is great! We are able to use it for DOL, to hear fun stories on Tumblebooks during snack, and to learn our science lessons interactively in the afternoons. We had so much fun turning liquids into solids this week as you got to see on Tuesday afternoon when your students brought home their blue goop! We finished Third Grade Angels and have decided to try to be angels ourselves just like the class in the book! Each week a different student will earn our halo with his or her good behavior! Our next read-aloud will be Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (one of my favorite authors)! Please consider getting a copy for your child- especially if he or she is working on comprehension. 
Mrs. Price and the HSA have arranged for a great speaker for the next HSA meeting and they are encouraging high attendance at this event by rewarding the class with the highest parent attendance with a dress down day.  The speaker is David L. Hill, MD, FAAP. He is a pediatrician and author, and a nationally recognized expert on media and child health. I will be there for the meeting (Wednesday 1/23 at 6:30pm) and hope you will be, too. I am sure it will be a very beneficial experience. There will be a hand-out coming home next week about this.
Have a great weekend!
-- 
Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values








January 2012
Dear Parents
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas! Just a few reminders-- this marking period is coming to a close (January 18th) and we will have our times tables test on 4s, 5s, and 6s on January 16th. A few children still need to get these tables learned. There is still plenty of time.
Our current read-aloud is Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli. We LOVED The Best Christmas Pageant Ever- many have listed it as their favorite book on the new year worksheets we completed this week for display outside the classroom. We are loving our new book, too! The kids love to read along (and it helps keep them focused and able to retain more) so if you can obtain a copy for your child, that would be great!

--
Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values






December 4, 2012
Hello Parents!
This week's spelling words are-- brother's, brothers, uncle's uncles, sister's sisters, sisters', man's, men's, child's, girls, girl's, girls', mine, yours. Clearly the kids need to understand the difference between plurals, possessives, and plural possessives. We have been working on this in class. Keep this in mind while helping your child study for the test. Here are some examples which may help...
The girls were jumping rope.
The girl's sweater was on the back of her chair.
The girls' club was on Wednesday after school.
We are really picking up speed with times tabes and progressing well. There will be weekly times tables tests on Wednesdays from now on. Each child will be tested according to how far he/she has progressed on the football field. (If a child has made it past the 5s yard line, his test will be on all the tables 0-5.) I think this will help the kids to keep the tables in their memories and to contnue drilling themselves even on tables they have "learned." You may have seen "times table practice" written in your child's planner. I am asking the children- as part of their nightly homework- to review the times tables they know. This is review and not about learning more tables. It should take only a minute each night. It is important that the kids retain the multiplication facts they learn as the year progresses.The second quarter times tables test will be on Wednesday January 16th. On this day the kids will be tested on all tables through six. 
Thank you for your help and support.

Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values



November 15, 2012
Dear Parents

It is getting cold and some of the kids were a bit chilly at recess today. You might want to consider sending in gloves or hats or heavier jackets. This is only a suggestion- my own son was running around without any jacket! I just know I was cold, and some of the students were as well.
A form was sent home today with information about the new box tops contest which ends on November 28th. The prize is a pizza party, so please send in any box tops you collect!
Thank you!

--
Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values





October 7, 2012
Dear Parents
 
This will be a big week for us as this coming Friday will be the first Mass prepared by our class! The kids will give the readings, bring up the gifts, lead the petitions, altar serve, and serve as the cantors. We will also have a few kids from the upper grades helping us out. I cannot tell you how excited these children (and myself) are about this upcoming important event. We have already had two practices in the church, and I know we are going to do a wonderful job. Please plan on attending Mass this Friday. If you can make it, do plan to sit with our class on the left side of the church (facing the altar). The kids will be sitting in the front pews in a special order dependant upon the roles they have in the Mass. You are welcome to sit in the pews behind the kids.
 
I sent some of the kids home with their readings to practice over the weekend. Forgive me for the less than formal appearance of their little slips of paper-- they will get neater copies to take home and practice with this week. :)
 
If your child has a speaking part in this Mass (Laney, Nathan, Lilliana, Alex, Caitlyn, Emma, Luke, Savannah, Evan, and Amelia) it would be great if you could help him/her to practice this week. None of the readings are long. The focus should be on reading loudly enough, reading slowly, and enunciating. At the same time, the goal should be, of course, to bring the proper meaning to the words and to communicate the message at hand.
 
There will be plenty of opportunities for the kids to read at Mass, as we will prepare three more Masses throughout the year (including Ash Wednesday Mass), and I will strongly encourage all of the kids to help with speaking roles.
 
IOWA testing has been going very well. I have been very proud of the serious "try my best" attitude the kids have maintained for all three days of testing. They are not rushing at all, but rather taking the tests very carefully and in many cases checking over their work. The last day of testing will be tomorrow (Monday) and then we will return to our regular schedule. Tuesday will be a make-up day for any students who have been absent for any of the testing days.
 
We are still focusing on regrouping in math, and have been doing a good job of it. Breaking the kids into groups at math time has proved very helpful to those needing a little extra support with the concepts. We will continue with our non-fiction Olympic story this week; there are a lot of facts to keep straight, and I think another week of focus will help.
 
We had a chance to work with some of the ipads this past week! We had a lot of fun exploring the educational apps the school has set up for us- most notably we were able to use a math app to work on our multiplication tables! I hope to begin using the ipads regularly in math for enrichment purposes, and eventually in other subjects as well.
 
We will be buddies with Mrs. Brown's seventh grade class this year! Mrs. Brown and I are planning a fun science activity for the kids for sometime in the upcoming weeks- will keep you posted!
 
Also on the horizon- class pictures on October 17th- forms were sent home- price is $10 and checks should be made out to Lifetouch. Field trip to Mike's Farm. This form was also sent home in the folder. We only need one chaperone, and I already have a volunteer. If you would like to travel on your own to the farm and meet us there, you are more than welcome. The more the merrier. Should be a fun trip!
 
There will be no spelling test this week. The spelling words come from the stories we are reading, so this is due to the fact that we will stick with last week's story this week. Hopefully the kids can use the little bit of extra time at home practicing for Mass!
 
Have a great week and hope to see you on Friday!

Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values












Dear Parents

It's becoming redundant, but I LOVE THIRD GRADE! We finished up Allie's Basketball Dream and will begin The Olympic Games: Where Heroes Are Made next week. We are almost finished with the online books we're creating based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They are turning out great and will be available on my website soon.

We're adding and regrouping in math and working with base ten blocks in order to help us with place value.

We're studying forces and motion in science and have defined the following terms: energy, motion, and position. We enjoyed conducting a short experiment in class in order to draw some conclusions about movement and speed!
We will be beginning cursive writing next week!

For the time being, we will no longer be having DOL tests. The children clearly need practice correcting the errors in their daily DOL, so we will keep our focus on this for now. There has definitely been improvement in this area, and I know there is more to come.

The children will have their first IOWA tests next week beginning on Wednesday. We have had practice tests all week, so the kids know what to expect. They have done very well with the testing procedures they've learned. The IOWA tests are used to help the teachers know what the kids know and what they still need to know. They are a very helpful tool in this regard. I have explained to the kids that this is the purpose of the test. While it is a very important test, and of course we want each child to do his or her best, we do not want any child to be anxious or nervous about the tests. I have tried to exaplin to them the importance of doing their best without "freaking out" about the test. If you would like to help them to do well on this test, I would recommend this approach. It would be natural for these kids to feel some anxiety over this new experience; I think they will be better able to do their best if we try to remedy this.

I have spoken to them about the importance of being well-rested and eating a decent breakfast while they are testing. I think these are the best things they can do as far as "preparation." Probably focusing on these things will help them to feel some control over the situation and to gain some confidence. It might be a good idea to try to keep them on a good sleep schedule this weekend in preparation for a nice well-rested week.
A breakfast with some protein is considered good "brain food." Some ideas for good "IOWA breakfasts" are eggs, peanut butter on toast, cheese and toast, or yogurt. It doesn't have to be protein, but eating a decent breakfast of some sort will definitely help those little brains to be at their best.

I have one more tiny request. :) If the kids could get small personal pencil sharpeners (the kind that hold the shavings) it would be greatly appreciated. We use our pencils all day and they need a lot of sharpening! We will be able to learn more (with less distractions) if each child was able to take care of his/her own pencil sharpening at his/her own desk. (Pencils for IOWAs will be provided by me- no concerns there.) Thank you if you can help and no rush on this!

Spelling words for next week are least, fast, just, burst, strip, stick, strike, artist, almost, student, strong, start, blast, step, and street.

Enjoy the long weekend with your wonderful children!

Sincerely

Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values





September 14, 2012
Dear Parents
It's been another wonderful (and especially fun-filled) week! As you know, on Thursday we celebrated Roald Dahl Day (his birthday). We watched part of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie (thanks to Laney for bringing it in) and enjoyed popcorn, Willy Wonka candy (thank you, Nathan!) and our very own Fizzy Lifting Drinks (thanks to Evan)!! I was so happy we finished the book in time for this celebration. We have created Venn Diagrams and are preparing to write a comparison of the book and the movie.

We finally collected enough milk cartons and were able to begin our Community project today. Each child is creating a building in the community. We have the church, the hospital, the bank, the movie studio, Harris Teeter, and more. When we finish the buildings each child will write a paragraph about his/her organization and present to the class. I would love to have some parents come in and talk to us about their roles in the community! Let me know if you would be interested!

We finished our Nate the Great story (a mystery!) and will have the next reading test early next week. Some parents have asked that the books be sent home before these tests- I will be glad to send them home. We are also working hard on comprehension strategies and taking plenty of time to discuss what we are reading. I have shared a number of reading strategies with the kids such as predicting, visualization, and making connections. I really hope to enhance their understanding of what they read this year.

In math we have been focusing on place value, rounding, and word problems. Rounding was challenging for many students. I found a great "rounding rap" online which really sums up the skill very well. I showed it to the kids and they loved it. I plan to show it some more. Hopefully we can memorize it and conquer this rounding thing once and for all. If you're interested--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3afU6JQG15I

Thank you for the bins that have come in- I could still use one more large bin if anyone can help out. I am also in need of books for the classroom library. If you've got any books you don't need and could donate to the cause it would be greatly appreciated. Having a well-stocked classroom library is very helpful in promoting literacy. I will be getting more books through Scholastic soon, but until then every book helps the cause!

If anyone has any U.S. puzzles (not ones that make noise, please) or materials and would be willing to share those with us, this would also be appreciated.

Keep sending in your box tops! The contest has begun, and we are off to a good start!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Next week's spelling words: tight, while, show, stone, bright, whole, window, time, follow, close, flight, tide, grow, broke, below

Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values



September 7, 2012
Dear Parents

We've had another great week in the third grade! We have learned the classroom procedures so well and are learning more and more in all our subject areas each day! The behavior in Mass today was truly excellent. I was so proud! We are watching the Masses very closely in preparation for our first Mass on October 12th. Save the date!

We're studying a new story in reading, Pepita Talks Twice, about a bilingual girl who decides she is tired of speaking two languages. In math we are sharpening up our understanding of place value and working on our multiplication tables. In social studies we are gearing up for a class project on communities. We are going to create our own classroom community complete with a church, a school, a hospital, a post office, etc. We are saving milk cartons, and each child will be responsible for making one or two buildings for the community out of the cartons. They will also be writing paragraphs about their businesses and how they contribute to the good of the community. Many kids are interested in creating the buildings where their parents work- and we have a lot of important organizations represented!

The potato chip flavor project from last week was sent home in the folder today. This activity was based on a real contest being held by Lays. If you would like to enter your child's flavor in the contest you can text the entry to CHIPS (24477). Entries must contain the name of the flavor, three ingredients used for the flavor, and a short description of the flavor (140 character limit).

As you know, I have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the children each day. We have five chapters remaining and should be done with the book soon. Next Thursday is Roald Dahl's birthday and we will have a little celebration to honor him on that day. I will let you know more details about this in the beginning of next week.

A couple of extra things- if anyone has any spare bins (large size) around the house we could use some both for our recess equipment and for recyclables. A few students have sent in some box tops and that's great- keep them coming. Thanks to all who sent canned food in today. The baskets were overflowing- I know Sister Issac very much appreciates this help with her very important ministry.

The kids are doing great with their multiplication tables. Feel free to encourage them to work on these at home and on the weekends. We will also be working on learning the locations of all of the states this year if you would like to get your child going in that direction. There are tons of websites and resources to help in both of these areas if you are interested.

Thank you for all you do to help your children to succeed in school. We are off to a great start! Have a nice weekend.

Next week's spelling words- easy, grade, meet, late, seat, saved, pail, these, reach, name, raise, leave, gain, these, scream

--
Tracy Cordon
3rd Grade Teacher
St. Mary Catholic School
Academic Excellence in a Setting of Catholic Christian Values

  

 
Last Modified: Friday, May. 03, 2013
 
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