Lots of Reminders!

Hike Reminder

Tomorrow is our EMES hike day!  Please help your child come prepared with:

• A lunch (unless he or she has ordered a bag lunch)
• A water bottle
• Comfortable clothing with layers as needed
•  Comfortable hiking shoes

Please check out Mr. Blanchard’s page on the school website for other reminders. 

ECO Reminder

Our next ECO lesson is on Tuesday, September 29^th.  We have changed our ECO time.  Our new session is from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.

Homework Reminder

Homework for all students is due back on Monday, September 28^th.  Thank you to families for helping students return their homework on time.  Please let me know if you need any help making this homework successful for your child.

Happy Hike Day!  Enjoy the weekend, too!

Classroom News and Photos

We had another action-packed week in our classroom!  Our first ECO lesson on Tuesday focused on interdependence.  We played a game called Owls, Mice, and Seeds that taught us about a specific food chain and how the animals and plants in a food chain are connected.  Ask your child what happened when the number of owls, mice, or seeds changed.

In our writing classes, we are learning to "lift the level" of our personal narrative writing.  It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm that students have for creating their "small moment" narratives.  This week, students in my writing group learned how to stretch out their writing by adding meaningful details.  We talked about our five senses and how we can use what we saw, heard, smelled, touched/felt, or tasted to help us add descriptions.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our EMES Open House!  It was wonderful to see students playing math games and sharing their work.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, September 25th:  EMES School Hike (Rain Date October 2nd)

October 6th:  Picture Retake Day

October 12th:  Columbus Day (no school)

October 13th:  Teacher In-service (no school for students)


Photo Info

Class photos are being reprinted and will be sent home soon.

If you did not get your child's individual photo package, please let me or Jane Badger know.

    

 

Typing Club!

Third Grade Math

3^rd grade MATH:

We are entering our 4^th week of Math class and are starting to establish routines. Daily warm-ups consist of knowing the date (written 2 ways), knowing how many days of school there are, routine “count-by” and looking at number patterns. We continue to discuss key math vocabulary (digits, numbers, addition, sum, value, place value, etc.) as well as practice developing fluidity with all our sight facts. (There are 45 of them for addition/subtraction). We are also working hard on developing math class expectations for being safe, respectful and responsible.

You may have noticed that I assign very little math homework. This is by design. When I do assign math homework, I really want students to complete it independently. I want to know what they can be independent in, and what concepts do I need to do more explicit teaching. If your family routine involves daily math homework, please feel free to practice facts by playing a math game with a deck of cards. Periodically ask your child “how do you know that sum is larger than mine?” if you are playing addition “top-it” (aka “war”). Listen for a reasonable explanation.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. Email works best. acarter@u32.org

Sincerely,

Anne Carter

Classroom News: ECO, Homework, and Open House!

I continue to be very impressed with the way that students are working together and really building our classroom community.  We have been working on creating our classroom expectations for each branch of our classroom expectations "tree".  The branches are Safe, Respectful, and Responsible.  Students have been sharing their "What helps me learn?" posters with the class and we have discovered that there are many similarities between the poster.  It has been helpful for me to see what is important to students so I can support everyone in making our classroom environment match their needs.

Homework folders are coming home today.   The homework is a weekly packet that will go home on Mondays and will usually be due the following Monday. Please read over the letter and expectations with your child.  It may also be helpful to set up some routines around homework, such as good times and places to do homework and where to keep the folder when they are not using it.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need support making this home-school connection work for your child.

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, September 15th:  Our First ECO class with Carrie!

We have our first ECO session with Carrie on Tuesday afternoon.  Please help your child to dress appropriately for the weather and to wear sneakers or other footwear for walking in the woods.  (No flip-flops, please!)


Wednesday, September 16th:  EMES Open House

The EMES Open House is this Wednesday from 6:00-7:00 pm.  This is an opportunity for you to take a tour of our room and see some of your child's classwork.  

There will also be three 20 minute training sessions for parents in the Library to learn about accessing the Infinite Campus portal.  This portal is especially useful for viewing your child's lunch account and adding money online.  (If you have already attended a training at U-32 or another school in our district, you do not need to attend.)  Please see the school newsletter for more information.

I look forward to seeing you at Open House!

Monday, September 21st:  First Homework Due!

 

Classroom News: Building our Classroom Community

It has been an incredibly busy week and everyone has been doing a great job getting to know our routines and schedule. We continue to work on building our classroom community.  Students worked in pairs or small groups to create collaborative posters that answered the questions:  "What helps me to learn best?" and "What do I need so I can learn?"  They used pictures and words to explain their ideas.

We also wrote and illustrated our All About Me books.  Each student had the opportunity to share his or her book in a small group. 

On Wednesday, Arlyn helped us learn how to log in on the computers using our new passwords. Second graders and new students were introduced to Typing Club, a fun program that teaches important keyboarding skills. Returning third graders did a great job picking up right where we left off with this program last year.

We are so excited to have three new students join our second and third grade team.   Welcome to Aiden, Ari, Braden, and their families!

Please remember to return all ECO and classroom blog permission forms as soon as possible.  I love to include photos of classroom activities every week.  Our first ECO lesson is on Tuesday, September 15th.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  See you on Tuesday!

 

Classroom News: Our First Week!

We had a busy and exciting first week of school!  We worked on our All About Me books and participated in a class scavenger hunt to learn about our classmates.  Students had a chance to share about their summer vacation.  We also practiced building stamina to read independently during our "Read to Self" times.

In math class, both second and third grade groups worked on counting patterns. Second graders focused on counting by 2s.  Students had many interesting math observations to share with their classmates.  We also learned how to use our new math journals and to write numbers on the grid paper.  Ask your second grader about counting by 2s on the "scrolls".

We have also been working on our first social studies theme, which is "Building Our Classroom Community".  The first part of this unit focuses on reviewing school expectations and creating our classroom expectations "tree".  We have also been discussing KHFOOTY (Keep Hands, Feet, and Other Objects To Yourself) and the school-wide expectations for voice levels.

I have been impressed with the way students are already working together as a classroom team!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back!  I am very excited to have your child in my class.  I am really looking forward to this school year with our wonderful group.  I wanted to let you know some important information about our classroom schedule and routines.

           

Specials Classes:

Here is our specials schedule.  Students should remember to bring or wear sneakers for P.E. days and return books on library days. 

                       

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Spanish Technology units (alternating with Mrs. Fitch’s class)	Art P.E.	Music	Library	P.E.

Sharing:

Sharing is an important part of our daily Morning Meeting as a whole class.  It is a time for students to practice their speaking and listening skills.  It is also a wonderful way for us to get to know each other better and to learn about what is most important to our classmates.  Starting in September, I will give more information about our sharing schedule. 

Classroom News/Blog:

This year, I will continue using this classroom blog to communicate with families.  I will post photos, important information, and descriptions of work that we are doing in our classroom.  Please return the blog permission forms as soon as possible.

Items to bring to school:

Please remember to pack a snack for your child each day.  Please make sure to read the letter that Elizabeth and I sent home on Tuesday about peanut/tree nut free snacks and our classroom.  If you have any questions, feel free to call us.  I usually have extra snack in case someone forgets, but not enough for every day.  Also, students are encouraged to bring a water bottle that they can keep on their table.  Thanks!

Please contact me with any questions.  You can email me at lgiammusso@u32.org  You can also reach me at school at 223-7936 ext. 325.  If you have a change in dismissal plans, please also contact the front office, as I may not get the message in time for dismissal.