General+Info


 *  August 28, 2008

Dear Parents:

Now that the students have been in third grade for a few days and are familiar with the routine, I would like to share some more information with you regarding some ‘miscellaneous’ things in our classroom as well as some academic information. **

 M I S C E L L A N E O U S ---

If your child is being picked up at the end of the day, or needs to be picked up at an earlier time, please send in a note. I will then forward the note to the office so that both the office and myself are aware of this. It is school policy that students without a note must be sent home on the bus. Also, this year we have a new procedure in effect. Students who are being picked up at the end of the day will be dismissed before the buses (approximately 3:25). Please, as you exit the parking lot, do not enter the area where the buses are loading students.
 *  Notes to School & Being Picked Up: **

 **Birthday Treats:** Parents often ask about birthday treats. I prefer chocolate with… (Just kidding!) The students will have snack time somewhere around 10:00 each morning. This is a great time to provide the treat for them if you desire. We currently have 21 students in the class. Students often like to bring a few extra for their former teachers/specials teachers. I would appreciate if you could send a note in a day or two in advance giving me a heads up that your child will be bringing a treat. (Classroom Allergies this year include; carrots & mushrooms). Individually wrapped treats are appreciated and are easy for the students to hand out to others (and we avoid licking our fingers as we hand out the treats!). *If your child has a summer birthday they are welcome to celebrate their “half birthday”!

Birthday Invitations: Please do not send birthday invitations to the classroom to be handed out unless each student in the classroom is invited. Homework Policy: ** Each student has an orange homework folder, which hopefully you have already seen! This folder will come home every night. Students are responsible for remembering to return their folder each morning with the completed assignments and their parent’s initials. Please initial the column after you have checked to make sure their homework is finished. Completing homework on time will give your child extra practice on skills and ensure that they are ready for the next lesson. Typical homework assignments include spelling practice sheets, Home Links and practice sheets from our math curriculum, and occasional worksheets from social studies, science, and writing. Homework will be no more than 30 minutes a night. Fifteen minutes of this time will be devoted to reading (district requirement). Their homework will only consist of skills that were taught in school and are to be practiced outside of school. As the parent you have great insight working 1:1 with your child. If you find that your child is confused on a particular problem please write me a note. If they do not have their homework done they may choose to hand in a homework pass (one given per month), which allows them an extra day. Without a pass, I require them to stay in for recess to complete the assignment. Homework passes become worth 10 tickets each in June as a reward for being responsible. (Below is an explanation of tickets).
 * 


 *  Volunteering in the Classroom: **

I really appreciate the help of volunteers. I usually have the homeroom mom(s) set up the schedule for volunteering on a monthly basis. As soon as the volunteer list for the classroom is compiled and the homeroom moms are picked we will get the schedule put together. Please remember to return the volunteer slips that came home Wednesday. Thank you in advance for helping the children and offering your time.

 **Our Specials:**

A Day: Gym/Intramurals (Over “lunch-recess”) B Day: Music & Computer Lab C Day: Art & Book Buddies (*Please send an art shirt in!) D Day: Computer Lab, ‘3rd block’ Choir E Day: Gym F Day: Library & Computer Lab

General Rules of the Classroom & School Rules, “Because Brecknock Cares” **
 * Students will be learning correct keyboarding this year through a program entitled “Type to Learn”.
 * 

Generally, students in third grade know the basic rules and are aware of the expectations in a school environment. I use a lot of “appropriate” or “not appropriate” language in my room. As mentioned in my student letter over the summer, I expect “appropriate” behavior from each of my students in the classroom as well as during specials and in the hallways. We work very hard in third grade to establish politeness – i.e. holding the door, allowing a person to get through when there is a long line of students, apologizing for accidentally bumping into someone, passing people on the right hand side of the hallway, saying “excuse me”, etc. Please reinforce this politeness at home. We will also work on teamwork skills, getting along with others, and being a good friend. This summer I took a course entitled, “Behavioral, Academic and Social Interventions in the Classroom”. It was said in this class that many times an employee is fired or receives a bad report not for their performance but rather for a lack of social skills. As a personal goal this year, I would like to focus on helping the children in my classroom develop their social interaction skills.

Important: Just a FYI/side note: If your child comes home with a behavior sheet that needs signed, this is a big deal to me. I usually deal with behavior problems inside the classroom. If I send home a note about a particular behavior, I am trying to make an impression with the student. Please reinforce the inappropriateness of the behavior and talk through alternative options with your child before sending it back with your signature. If you have questions regarding the note, please call me. In the past I have sent very few children to the principal’s office. If a behavior/incident occurs that requires this action, I will phone home to let you know about the situation.


 *  Here are the //general// rules of the room: **

CLASSROOM RULES

1. Show respect towards ALL people at ALL times 2. Raise your hand and wait to be called upon before speaking 3. Listen when others are speaking 4. Follow all directions the first time they are given. If the directions are unclear, ask questions! 5. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself 6. Be responsible for your actions

CONSEQUENCES

1. Warning 2. Student and Teacher Conference 3. Behavior Sheet – Parent Signature (Depending on the behavior we may skip right to this level) 4. A form filled out and sent to Principal/Parent phone call


 * All of our classroom rules tie in to the “New” Because Brecknock Cares school wide rules Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Safe. Using these three words in your home conversation will carryover into the classroom and vice-versa. Thank you in advance for your efforts!


 *  Behavior system – Rewards and Consequences through the ticket system: **

You may have already heard of the ‘ticket’ system in my classroom (you have probably heard mostly about the reward part and not how they got the reward =0) Students in my class are rewarded for behavior, academics, being responsible and being polite with blue tickets. For failing to do one of the previously mentioned things (mostly behavior) students are asked to hand tickets back in. These tickets can then be traded in before school begins or at snack time for the prizes in a “5-box, 10-box, 20-box, 30-box, and 50-box” Students can also trade 100 tickets in for lunch with a friend and the teacher. The 50-box includes scholastic books purchased with some of the Book Order “points” the classroom receives when student purchases are made. (If you have any small toys, from Fast Food Restaurants, still in wrappers, etc. feel free to send them in for our prize box – you’d be amazed what they get excited about! =0)


 *  Highlight’s Magazine: **Throughout the year (several times), I will be sending home slips to sign up for the Highlight’s Magazine. If you would like to receive this magazine at your home, please fill out the slip and return it to school. If you would not like to receive the magazine, please simply sign your name and check the “no” box. I can receive FREE items for the classroom for yes/no slips (the students will choose the item they want to receive for the classroom). Thank you for returning these slips!

 **Moo Money:** Save your milk lids! Throughout the year our class will be collecting Turkey Hill Moo Money milk lids. These lids have a special sticker on them and are only available at the gas station stores. Thanks for saving these lids, and sending them in! Spread the word!


 *  Scholastic Book Orders will be sent out monthly…at least that’s my goal now…! **

Race for Education! I am excited and feel privileged to serve as the Teacher Representative on the PTO board. Our BIG fundraiser this year (instead of Wolfgang) is Race for Education. Students will be sponsored to complete 1/4-mile laps (promoting healthy living). In the same week they will participate in a Health Fair, where local businesses will set up displays in the gymnasium. For our Race for Education Fundraiser students will need to provide address labels of friends and family. These addresses ARE NOT used for any other purpose. Our school goal is $20,000 and we have the potential to run fundraisers every other year rather than every year if we can exceed this goal. Have you ever said or heard family/friends state that they would rather donate $10 to the school than buy a $10 box of candy? We want their name! Here’s their chance! =0) In order to meet our goal, each student needs to provide a minimum of nine names. Please remember that our reason for running fundraisers is solely for the students benefit. Kudos to the many parents who serve on our PTO board, more are welcome to join at any time. The times/dates of the meetings can be found on the district calendar or by calling the school.


 *  T H E C U R R I C U L U M -

Reading: ** Like the previous grades, third grade uses the Houghton Mifflin reading program. Students read from an anthology of stories based on a particular theme; Back to School: Off to Adventure!, Celebrating Traditions & Trickster Tales, Incredible Stories, Animal Habitats, Voyagers & Biography, and Smart Solutions. Surrounding each of these themes are many activities on vocabulary, spelling (& patterns), writing, and grammar skills.

Beginning in September, there will be a reading log placed in your child’s homework folder. Students are responsible to keep a list of the stories they have read, and the record must be in the students writing. Depending on the level and length of the books they are reading they would be expected to read 2-6 books per month (at this age, I should be seeing varying levels of chapter books). Their 15-minutes/per night of reading, counts towards their monthly reading goal. Book report projects and keeping up with their reading log can earn them a coupon to the Book-it program sponsored by Pizza Hut (beginning in October). *Recording reading time four times a week will earn the most points. For students who regularly fight this reading time please consider manipulating their reading time by having them complete a recipe (reading the ingredients and following the directions) or give them a newspaper and have them circle all of the nouns in an article. Feel free to request a longer list of ideas. Reading can open so many doors for your child – from entertainment to education to current events – students will benefit from this skill in many ways throughout their lives.
 *  Reading Log: **

Students will be completing one official writing assignment/per month. Their scores will be reported to the district and monitored. The classroom teacher, using the Pennsylvania Writing Domains, will score these pieces. There are five domains scored: focus, content, organization, style and conventions. Each domain can receive a score ranging from 0 to 4, totaling 20 possible points. A copy of the PA rubric is available upon request or on the www.pde.edu website (Pennsylvania Department of Education). In addition to these writing samples taken once a month, we will be writing in the classroom on a regular basis and in many of the subject areas. Students will be instructed on several types of writing including descriptive, persuasive, informational as well as how to write a friendly letter, thank you cards, and how to take a phone message. Students also learn about different types of poetry. In every writing assignment students will be required to use (at least) a five paragraph writing system that includes an opening, three detailed paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. This is the same system that was required in second grade. In the third grade writing emphasis is more content and detail oriented. We will also focus on topic sentences and transitional sentences.
 *  Writing: **

<span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> **Spelling:** The spelling words are included as part of the reading program. The words found on the spelling list are words that are in our current reading and share similarities from week to week (lessons are taught on these similarities). I have noticed a lot of spelling issues already and will be supplementing with “Words Their Way”. Some children may come home with a list not from the Houghton Mifflin Reading Program to hone in on some specific patterns. Mondays are our pre-test and Fridays are our post-test. (This will sometimes be different, but not often). Every Monday in their homework folders you should find their pretest stapled to the list. On the back of the list, you will find the words that were misspelled on the pretest and need extra practice on. Students who are identified as being in need of an individualized spelling list, will have a different list than the class, or in some cases an additional list to study.


 * <span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> Math: **

The Everyday Math Program will continue to be used in third grade. This program is very much oriented to the visual learner. Most students (people) fall into this category. Concepts are taught often with manipulatives and hands on projects. Some skills, such as multiplication or addition with more than one digit, are taught several ways (which drives us all a little bonkers at times!) and then after the different ways are introduced, the student chooses the easiest way. For the non-visual learners I will be supplementing with additional lessons/worksheets. Students will extend their knowledge on previously learned concepts and be introduced to new concepts as well. Measurement, Place Value, Number Systems, Place Value, Geometry, Fractions, and Multiplication are some of the bigger units of study. Subtraction and additions skills are our focus in the first few months of third grade. Later we will introduce and then focus on fluency in multiplication (and some division) around the third and fourth quarter. Following are the minimum requirements in these areas for one-minute tests:

<span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> Addition Subtraction First quarter 20 18 Second quarter 22 20 Third quarter 24 22 (# correct/per minute) Fourth quarter 26 24

<span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> Multiplication Division First quarter 6 4 Second quarter 8 6 Third quarter 10 8 Fourth quarter 12 10

(My personal requirements for the students are much higher in number to ensure fluency in multi-step problems)

<span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> I like to begin Science studying Weather. As students hear about Hurricanes on the news, papers, etc., their interest is peaked inside the classroom as well. We will also study topics including; Ecological Behaviors & Systems, Agriculture, Climate & Atmospheric Processes, Earth’s Cycles, Earth Features and Processes That Change Earth, Properties of Matter, & (last but not least) Investigation and Experimentation.
 * Science:**


 * <span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> Social Studies: **

A majority of third grade is spent learning about maps and their uses (Geographic Understanding). We study maps, directions, map keys, distance and scale, resource maps, landform maps, route maps, grids, latitude and longitude, and graphs. Last year we introduced a new social studies curriculum. Our units of study include Patriotism, the Constitution, Government and Civics Understanding, Important Documents in U.S. History, Economics/Goods and Services, Native Americans, and Influential People in History. Many of our stories during Read Aloud will be biographies or “Who Was…” literature.

<span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> **Computer Lab:**

Our computer lab time (30 min/3 X cycle) will be used as a time to reinforce PSSA type activities (Study Island), curriculum supported websites, and additional websites will be accessed that align with concepts being learned. Students must have a paper, signed by their parents, allowing them to access to the Internet. If you have not signed this paper in the past because of concerns regarding their access please speak to me. Be assured that the students will be monitored very closely and the school also has a filtering system on each computer. We use the Internet regularly in third grade. Students in grade three will also be introduced to a keyboarding program, which teaches the students to use the correct fingering on the keyboard. Please reinforce the correct fingering on your computer at home. If you would like a sheet with the correct placements, please let me know. My own mother used to torture me at home with keyboarding, which I hated --- but now am very grateful! =0).


 * <span style="color: rgb(27, 98, 248);"> P.S.S.A. (Pennsylvania School System Assessment) **

Third graders are required, by the state, to take PSSA tests. Students will be tested in the areas of reading and writing in the spring. Skills for these tests are naturally taught in our curriculum. Additional worksheets are given, tips for good test taking are taught throughout the year and samples that are set up in the same format are given to the students, so that when they take the test they are prepared. It will be important for your child to be in school during the PSSA testing window.

In Closing (finally!)

I think I have covered everything…at least that I can think of right now! If you have actually made it through this whole packet, I commend you! I know that it’s just a ton of information, but many of you enjoy knowing this information and find it useful to support your child at home. Thank you for your continued support from home. Wow! What a great group of students. I am enjoying getting to know each of the student’s personalities and learning styles. They are filled with energy and are ready to soak in the information. It will definitely be a fun year. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to communicate with me through a note to school, phone, or e-mail. I have been blessed again with another wonderful class; I hope they find their third grade year an enjoyable year of learning!

Thank you!

Mrs. Beverly Libell