Third Grade Newsletter

Hello! Can you believe it is the fourth nine weeks? This year has flown by! It is March and third grade has alot of activities coming up. Report cards will be coming home Monday the 19th, so check your child's Monday Folder.

CRCT is coming soon! Third grade students have to pass the reading portion of the test in order to be promoted to the next grade level. The dates for the CRCT are: April 18- 27. Look for more information to come home with your child soon.

AR goals have been reset and this the last opportunity of the year to make the goal! Encourage your child to work hard and stay diligent to make it to the last AR party of the year!

March is Math Madness Month here at the park. The third grade challenge will be given by Principal Lawson and multiplication will be the focus. If your child is still struggling to learn their multiplication facts, please continue to work with them. Firstinmath.com is still available from any computer for extra practice. Students can earn points to receive recognition in class. Challenge your child to have their facts mastered this month!

Here is what we will be studying the 4th nine weeks:

Reading/Language Arts/Writing: We will be focusing on persuasive writing, idioms, and slang. The students will complete a cummulative grammar assessment that covers all priviously taught skills.

Math: We will be extending our work with multiplcation and division, elasped time,  and data analysis.

Social Studies/ Science: We will be studying Thurgood Marshall, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Cesar Chavez in social studies. In science, we will explore conservation and recycling.

Important dates this month:

Mar 5: Zaxby’s Reading Night, 6:00-7:00 pm

Mar 6: Chick-fil-a Spirit Night, 3:00-8:00 pm

Mar 6: Governing Board Meeting, 6:00 pm

Mar 7: 5^th Grade Georgia Writing Assessment

Mar 8: PTA Meeting, 1^st Grade Performs, 6:00 pm

Mar 11: Daylight Savings: Set clocks forward 1 hour

Mar 12-23: Spring Cookie Dough Fundraiser

Mar 13: Math Night at East Piedmont Publix, 5-7 pm

Mar 15: Kindergarten Sewell Park “Rocks” Field Trip

Mar 17: St. Patrick’s Day

Mar 19: Report Cards Home

Mar 23: Taste of the Park, 6:00-8:00 pm

Mar 28: New Kindergarten Registration, 8-11:30 am

Mar 29: The ABCs of Discipline, 11:00 am-12:00 noon

Mar 30: School Wide Walk

Mar 30: Yogolycious Spirit Night

3rd Quarter Panther Pride Assemblies are coming soon!

• Assemblies will be held March 26-30
• 3rd grade will be Wednesday the 28th from 8:00-8:30
• Look for more information in your child's Monday Folder!

Parent Resources

     Did  you know that we have a Parent Resource Room here at Sedalia Park? If you didn't, or you just don't know very much about it, we want to give you a little more information about this great resource for families. 

     Frances Jaramillo is our resource room coordinator. She has a great collection of learning matierials for both parents and students that are available for check out.  These materials include games, books, and videos... to name a few! Mrs. Jaramillo also holds classes and workshops throughout the year to help parents better understand different areas of their child's education.  See below for more information regarding and upcoming class. You can ask about our resource room in the front office.  We hope you will stop by soon. 

Upcoming class:

The ABCs of Discipline  - Parents are invited to the Parent Resource Center, Instructional Room #2.  We will feature a video (9 minute clip) from “The Parent Institute” and learn about common discipline mistakes, rules and expectations, how to let natural consequences help. Each parent receives a booklet.

 

When: Thursday, Mar. 29 from 11:00am - 12 noon.

 

* A session will be offered in Spanish from 9:00-10:00 am

 

Third Grade February Newsletter

Hello all Third Grade students and parents/guardians! It is February already and the Third Grade has a lot of activities going on. Please check below for important dates of upcoming field trips! We have an extra day this February because of Leap Year. Do you know why we have the extra day (29th)? Do you know how often this occurs? Ask your child! They have talked about this in class!

Please remind your child to keep up with his/her AR reading so that they can achieve their goal. We had many students make their AR goal last marking period, but we would love to see every child achieve their goal. READ!! Also, remember that extra, out of class reading, also counts towards the Six Flags Read to Succeed program. Students that read 6 hours or 360 minutes and hand in their completed form by March 1, 2012 will be eligible to receive a free ticket to Six Flags this summer! WOW!!

Many students are still working on mastering their multiplication facts. All students are encouraged to log onto firstinmath.com at home (or from any computer) to become more fluent in their facts. Plus, they can earn points! Students can also use Fast Math here at school to help review.

Thank you to all parents/guardians that attended our Panther Pride Assembly on March 25. The students enjoyed and felt pride in receiving their awards that they worked hard for.

Here is what we will be studying the 3rd marking period:
LANGUAGE ARTS: We will be continuing our focus on non-fiction text features and using them to help gather information in our reading. Students will also be working on a short informational research topic of their choosing. Students will also continue their work in writing sentences correctly, using more complex sentences that contain compound subjects and compound predicates, and using and identifying descriptive adjectives.

MATH: Most classes have finished their initial study of fractions, but they will still be used throughout the year! Please work to keep this fresh in their minds. Students will alsobe working with measurement of length, both customary and metric. Help your child learn the basic conversions, such as 12 inches equals 1 foot, 3 feet equals 1 yard, etc. The metric can be a little tricky only because in the United States we don't use it as often as the customary unit. Please review centimeters, milimeters, meters, and kilometers with your child as well. It would be helpful to have your child measure objects at home to practice using a ruler and a meter stick. If they do not have a ruler, they can use the one in their agenda! (There is a lot of useful info in the agenda!) We will also be working on area and perimeter during this 3rd nine weeks.

SOCIAL STUDIES / SCIENCE: Our units of study in Science will include investigating the properties of magnets and Heat. We will study our country's government, on the local, state, and national level. Students will learn about the three branches of government and how they work together. We will also be continuing our study of some famous Americans that played an important part in American history. These people include: Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, and Mary Bethune.


Here is a list of important dates to mark on your calendar:
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 - Valentine's Day
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 - SCHOOL WIDE FIELD TRIP TO THE CIRCUS! (If you have not sent in your permission slip and the $7.00 donation, please do so ASAP! We don't want anyone left behind!)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 - NO SCHOOL
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 - Third Grade field trip to Warm Springs, GA to visit the Little White House. This will tie in very nicely with our study of Franklin Roosevelt. The cost of this trip is $20.00 and can be paid in installments. If you have not yet paid or turned in your child's permission slip, look for another one to be sent home on Monday, February 13. We will be leaving the school at 8:30 and will be arriving back at the school at 5:00. It is important that students have someone to pick them up at the school by 5:15 or they will be sent to  ASP and will be charged their fee. If you have any questions about this trip, please let your child's teacher know! It should be fun, exciting, and educational for all!

Have a great month! Spring is just around the corner!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a restful winter break and is ready for the second half of third grade.  Students will begin the year with a new AR goal, so take some time this week to discuss AR expectations.  The days are shorter and the nights are longer, therefore this is a great time to have your child read.  Review the multiuplication facts frequently this month.  If your child has not mastered these multiplication facts additional practice will be in place beginning this week for school and home.   Study guides for science or social studies tests are sent home several days before an upcoming test.  Once the study guide is sent home, be sure to help your child study for the science or social studies test each day to help them be successful with the test This is a very important 9 week period because students are learning test taking skills that will help them as they prepare for the CRCT in April. 

1-16-12   Martin Luther King Holiday – no school

1-27-12   Vulcan Quarry Field Trip

2-17-12   Schoolwide Field Trip

2–23–12  Franklin Roosevelt’s Little White House Field Trip – Return to school at 5:00PM.  Since we will not be at school for the bus dismissal you will need to pick your child up at 5:00 or have your child attend ASP.

Topics of Study

Reading – Non-Fiction Literature: We will study the components that make up this genre.

Math – Fractions, Measurement ( Standard Units: inches, feet, yards, and miles/ Metric Units: milimeters, centimeters, meters, kilometers) - Have your child start to measure items at home using a ruler, yardstick, or measuring tape.  We will continue to use the multiplication and division facts with increasing difficulty.  Continue to help your child increase fluency (speed and accuracy) with these facts.

Science – We will continue the Georgia Habitats units with a focus on adaptaions that organisms make in order to survive. The next unit on magnets will be brief, but full of fun.  We will then start to study heat.  You will find that we have moved the heat unit from the 4th nine weeks to the third nine weeks in order to cover it before the CRCT.

Social Studies - 3 Branches of Government and our Biographies: Mary McLeod Bethune, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: We are excited to take a trip to the Georgia vacation home of Franklin Roosevelt in Warm Springs Georgia. 

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!
We hope you had a restful Thanksgiving break. As we approach the end of the 2nd 9 weeks, please continue to help your child work toward his or her A.R. goal.

Upcoming Activities...
12.5.11~ Progress Reports sent home. Please review and feel free to discuss any questions/concerns with your child's teacher.

12.21.11~ Winter Break Party** We will be having a holiday rotation. Students will rotate to several other third grade classes to participate in fun activities. We'd appreciate a donation of $2 or more to help us put together some wonderful activities for the students.

12.22.11-1.6.2012~ Winter Break

1.27.12~ field trip to Vulcan Quarry -This trip allows students to explore and learn more about rocks and minerals found in Georgia.

Topics of Study...
Reading/Language Arts~ We are continuing to focus on the elements of fiction (characters, setting, problem, solution). Our grammar focus is on pronouns, adjectives, and complete/incomplete sentences. In writing, we are working on responding to literature. In their writing, the students are summarizing a story and sharing connections.
Math~ Keep studying the multiplication tables. Students must learn tables 1-10 in the third grade. Our focus is on understanding multiplication and division, geometry, money (making change), and graphing.
Social Studies and Science~ Our study of historic figures who helped shape our democracy focuses on Paul Revere, Susan B. Anthony, and Frederick Douglass. We'll also work on map skills with an emphasis on longitude and latitude. In science, we'll study soil, weathering and erosion. Then we'll begin our study of habitats.

Hi all!

Well here we are at the end of the 1st 9 weeks of third grade! Time flies when you're having fun!!!

Important reminders/dates:

Fall Festival- Oct. 21 5:00pm-8:00pm

Bring the whole family for some Fall fun! 

Conference week- Oct. 24-28      early release each day

** Report cards will be given out at each conference. Make sure you come ready with any questions or concerns you might have. **

Tutoring- If your child stays after school for tutoring help, please be ready to pick them up at 3:30. 

November 1st- last day for Tuesday tutoring

November 10th- last day for Thursday tutoring

November 12th- last day for Saturdays for Success tutoring

Student Holiday- November 8th

Thanksgiving Break- Nov. 21-25

2nd 9 weeks

 Reading:

Students will continue to use the UNRAVEL strategy when reading.

Students will focus on reading comprehension skills, main idea and details, fact and opinion, vocabulary, sequencing, story elements, and genre (the different types of stories). 

It is very important that your child reads for at least 25 minutes each night to help them grow as readers. Remember- they are responsible for reading all tests this year by themselves. 

Please remember to check your child's reading log each night. Look on the back to find updates on the progress of your child and his/her AR goals. Encourage them to take tests every few days if they have read their AR books carefully. New AR goals will start on Monday so remind your child that they will have a fresh start to make their goal if they didn't make it last nine weeks.

Math:

We are continuing our study of multiplication facts in the beginning of this nine weeks. Your child should know all of their 0's, 1's, 2's, 4's, 5's, and 10's facts so far. If they do not, have them practice for at least five minutes each night so they do not get behind. 

While working on multiplication facts, we will start to introduce division so it is very important they know their facts by memory. 

Science/Social Studies: 

We will begin to explore different types of soils. (clay, loam, and sand) Students will learn how to tell these soils apart from each other as well as how we use them in our everyday lives. 

Students will get to know more about the famous Paul Revere and his midnight ride. They will also learn the three branches of government and their roles.

*** Be sure to check the agenda each night and sign or initial it. That is our primary source for communication with you. ***

Thanks for reading! 

The Third Grade Team  :)