Friday, August 26, 2016

Friday, August 26th
QUICK REMINDERS:
1. NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th - LABOR DAY
2. Individual Picture Day-Thursday, September 8rd  Don’t forget to turn in your order form, if you would like pictures.
Dear Parents,
We completed our first full week of third grade! Your children worked hard and did a great job keeping up with the new expectations. Here is a recap of our week and a look at what is coming up in our classroom.
Literacy:
Next week, we will start Dictado. This sentence dictation activity is one element of our spelling and writing instruction.  The weekly Dictado sentence will contain some words from the BVSD 3rd grade Must Write word list. The list contains 100 words third graders must master by the end of the year. I put a link on my website with all 100 words so you can help your child practice these words at home. https://docs.google.com/a/bvsd.org/file/d/0B539GG5UwPlvSTU3ck45bEgzTlk/edit
Next week, we will also review sentence and basic paragraph structure.  We will use these tools to begin writing small moment personal narratives.  Please ask your child what they are writing about to strengthen their storytelling experiences.

On Thursday, Mrs. Sbrocca will be completing a reading assessment using i-Ready with students. We started using this reading assessment two years ago Kohl, so your child should be familiar with the format. After the testing is complete I will have an assessment report, which shows me how your child is reading, their strengths, and areas to work on.
Math:
This week, I was able to complete a math screener for a few students. I will continue assessing students next week.  This information gives me a snapshot of where your child is in math.  We also started our first math unit on Multiplication and Division. Students will begin nightly math homework on Tuesday, September 30th. Each student will bring a Homework and Remembering book home with pages to complete on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Math homework will always be due the following day. If your child has trouble with the homework, please write a note on the page and let me know what they need help with so that I can work with them in the classroom.

Social Studies:
We will begin our first unit in Social Studies on Monday. This first unit is about Diverse Communities and Local Government.
Homework Reminder:
We will begin our regular homework routine next week.
On Monday students will be assigned a reading log, which will include their weekly Dictado sentence assignment.  They will also be assigned a mystery state.  These assignments are due on Friday. Students will have math homework on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Math assignments are due following day.
Third grade students should be spending no more than 45 minutes total each night on homework. As a general rule, if your child has worked diligently for this amount of time and is not done and you feel they are beginning to get tired or frustrated, please write a note to me on the homework stating this. It should not become a power struggle or an awful experience. Please keep the lines of communication open with me if you are experiencing any issues with homework. I am here to help.
I hope you all have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, August 19, 2016

Welcome Update

August 19th, 2016
           
Dear Parents,

We had a great first two days together in third grade!! This is a wonderful group of kids who seem ready and eager to learn.  It was fun to learn about each other through the sharing of the All About Me bags.  Building community is an important part of these first few weeks of school.  This sharing assignment allows us to realize some of our similarities and differences. 

I will be writing newsletters to update you on what’s happening in our classroom, give reminders about upcoming events, and to share any news we might have.  I plan to email the newsletters as well as post them on my website so you will be able to access them at any time during the year if needed.  www.mrsgalt.blogspot.com

Reminders:
Snacks:
Students will have snack each day in the morning, and they can have another snack in the afternoon if they would like. I do not provide snack so please be sure to send a healthy snack with your child. Water bottles are encouraged.  Please label bottles with your child’s name.  Thank you!

Homework:
We will not be assigning homework until the week of August 29th.  We will talk about our homework routine next week, and I will go over it in detail during our back to school night.

Important Dates for Your Calendar:
Tuesday, August 23rd-Back to School Night 5:30-6:30
Monday, September 5th - NO SCHOOL- Labor Day
Thursday, September 8th - Picture Day


Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. You can contact me by email aisha.galt-theis@bvsd.org or by phone 720-561-8616.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

720-561-8616

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Welcome to Third Grade!

I hope to see you at third grade Back to School night on Tuesday, August 23rd from 5:30 to 6:30.