Friday, December 21st

The week of January 7th we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

Dear Parents,

I can't believe it is already winter break. This year is flying by so quickly!

The Kohl Spelling Bee was this week. Our finalists, Desmond McCoy and Noah Gray, did a great job! We are so proud of their hard work.

I would like to say thank you for all of the wonderful gifts. I feel blessed to be able to spend each day teaching your children and loved by all your thoughtfulness. Thank you.

Literacy:

This week students wrote an opinion piece about the length of recess.  When we return from winter break, students will publish an opinion piece before we begin our second narrative writing unit.

Math:

We finished our math unit on Measurement, Time and Graphing this week. The graded unit test is in  your child’s Friday folder.  After break, we will start Unit 4, Addition and Subtraction of Multi-digit Numbers.  

I know you keep hearing me say practice math facts, but memorized multiplication and division facts 1-10 and subtraction and addition facts through sums of 20 are imperative for fluent problem solving as math content gets more difficult.  The car is a great place to practice math facts, your kids can quiz you too, which can make it more fun for them.

The MobyMax site has two great math folders, Fact Fluency and Math, that your child can use to support math homework practice. There is a copy of your child’s MobyMax account information in their Friday folder.

Science:

This week we continued our Metric Measurement and Matter unit.  We investigated the characteristics of the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. When we return from break we will learn about how matter can change phases.

Homework Ideas for Winter Break

• Encourage your child to read independently and with you.  Take some time to talk about the texts.

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons

• Practice addition and subtraction facts sums through 20
• Practice all X and / (0-10) 5-10 minutes daily

• Have your child use MobyMax to practice math, reading, writing, social studies, science and more!  https://www.mobymax.com/signin

Important Dates to Remember

Saturday, December 22-January 7 Winter Break

Tuesday, January 8 First day back after Winter Break

Thank you again for supporting your kids every day! Happy holidays and have a safe and restful break.  See you all in 2019!!

Students first day back  is Tuesday, January 8th.

Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

Friday, December 14th

Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

Dear Parents,

We had another good week in third grade.  There is definitely a building holiday energy in the air!

The Kohl Spelling Bee is on December, 20th from 10:00 to 11:00.  Desmond McCoy and Noah Gray will represent our third grade class in the spelling bee. Tim Siguaw is our alternate.  

Please continue to collect Box Tops!  This is a great and easy way to support our school. Student council will be sponsoring another Box Top contest after winter break.

Literacy:

This week students wrote an opinion piece about the best pet for apartment living. Next week, students will write an opinion piece about the the length of recess.  When we return from winter break, students will publish an opinion piece before we begin our second narrative writing unit.

Math:

We will finish our math unit on Measurement, Time and Graphing early next week. Our unit test will be on Wednesday, December 19th.  After break, we will start Unit 4, Addition and Subtraction of Multidigit Numbers. Please continue to practice multiplication and division facts 1-10 nightly.  Students should also be building fluency with addition and subtraction facts through 20. We continuously hear from fourth grade teachers about the importance of memorized math facts.  The MobyMax site has two great math folders, Fact Fluency and Math, that your child can use to support math homework practice.

Science:

We are well into our Metric Measurement and Matter unit.  This week we investigated the characteristics of the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 daily.

Mark Your Calendar

Saturday, December 22-January 7 Winter Break

Tuesday, January 8 First day back after Winter Break

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

Friday, December 7th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

Dear Parents,

This was another busy week in third grade. Students spent some time developing their phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary skills through short iReady lessons.  We will be completing the winter iReady Diagnostic test the week of December 17th. Please encourage your child to take their time and do their best!

Literacy:

This week we continued working on opinion writing.  Students finished a piece about the importance of recycling and one about school uniforms.  I encourage you to have conversations about personal opinions with your child. Model sharing clear reasons for an opinion that are supported by facts.  When students can talk about their opinions with clear reasons, it makes writing about their opinions much easier. Thank you!

Math:

We are working on telling time to the minute and solving elapsed time problems in math. Please continue to support your child with telling time.  Elapsed time is a tricky concept and practice is extremely helpful. Next week we will create and use graphs to solve problems. Our unit 3 test will be on Wednesday, December 19th.

Science:

We started our Metric Measurement and Matter unit. We are learning about the metric system of measurement.  This week we used balance scales to measure mass in grams, syringes and graduated cylinders to measure liquid volume in milliliters, and meter tapes to measure distance.  Next week, we will investigate the three states of matter and how matter can change phases.

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 daily.

Mark Your Calendar

Monday, December 10th Coffee at Kohl-Innovation in BVSD

Saturday, December 22-January 7 Winter Break

Tuesday, January 8 First day back after Winter Break

Have a fantastic weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 30th

Next week we have PE on Monday and Thursday.

Dear Parents,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving break and had great food and fun with family and friends. We jumped right back into our daily routine in third grade this week, and we have been busy, busy!

I wanted to congratulate our Kohl Spelling Bee finalists. Desmond McCoy and Noah Gray will represent our third grade class in the spelling bee. Tim Siguaw is our alternate.  The spelling bee is scheduled for Thursday, December 20th from 10:00 to 11:00.

This week,I noticed that many students are not using ReadingPlus/iReady at home.  Also, some students are still struggling with their multiplication and division facts. In order to build accuracy and fluency, it is imperative that students practice their math facts nightly at home. We will continue to have regular math dash assessments throughout the school year to build accuracy and fluency. Please help support your child with these important tasks.  Thank you!

Math:

We have been working on measurement using both US Customary units and Metric units this week. Next week, we will work on telling time and calculating elapsed time. After that, we will use graphs to understand data.  

Literacy:

This week we started working on writing an opinion piece supported by facts from a text. All of the students wrote a piece about the importance of recycling and used evidence from the text to support their opinion.  Each week students are also engaging in interactive read alouds, independent reading, guided reading, and word work lessons.

Science:

We started our Metric Measurement and Matter unit. We are learning about the metric system of measurement and will be using balance scales to measure mass in grams, syringes and graduated cylinders to measure liquid volume in milliliters, and meter sticks to measure distance.  We will also learn about the three states of matter and how matter can change phases.

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 daily.

Mark Your Calendar

Thursday, December 6 Vision and Hearing Screening

Monday, December 10th Coffee at Kohl-Innovation in BVSD

Saturday, December 22-January 7 Winter Break

Tuesday, January 8 First day back after Winter Break

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

Friday, November 16th

We have PE on Wednesday, November 28th.

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday!   We had a fantastic time at the Annie play and at our fall party!  The Backstory Theater productions are always impressive! Thank you to the chaperones for supporting us on this walking field trip and to all of the parents who contributed to our fall party.  We couldn’t do it without you!

Thank you for sending in food for the Kohl Food Drive. It is amazing to see how much can be accomplished when everyone does a little bit.  Kohl collected hundreds of pounds of food!

If your child is interested in participating in the Kohl Spelling Bee on December 20th, please remind them to study the spelling bee words that came home in Friday folders last week. We will be giving all third graders a spelling bee screening test the on Tuesday, November 27th after Thanksgiving break to determine our three classroom spelling bee participants.  These tests will not be graded for a classroom grade. They are just a screener for us to qualify students for the spelling bee.

Mark your calendar:

November 19-23- NO SCHOOL- THANKSGIVING BREAK

November 28th-3rd Grade Recorder Performance 6pm (doors will open at 5:30)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with your families.  I am so thankful to be part of the Kohl community!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 9th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday.

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who has returned the permission slip for our field trip to see Annie at the Broomfield library auditorium on Friday, November 16th.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered to chaperone for this trip. Amber Gray, Laura Meushaw, Sarah Schilling, Mary Ann Lawler, Lisa Fairlee, and Heidi Siguaw please come to the classroom at 8:10 to begin walking to the auditorium.   We will begin walking to the auditorium at 8:15 and will return to school by 1:30 for our fall party!  Students and chaperones will need a sack lunch for this trip. Thank you!

Thank you our room parents for planning our fall party and to everyone who is able to contribute.  Please take a moment to sign up to bring something for our fall party using the following link:  https://helpatschool.org/schools/15/events/2947

Report cards for first trimester will be available through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal on Wednesday, November 14th. There is a letter in your child’s Friday folder about how to access their report card.

Your child has a copy of Spelling Bee study words in their Friday folder.  The Kohl Spelling Bee is scheduled Thursday, December 20th from 9:30 to 11:00 in the gym.  If your child is interested in participating in the Kohl Spelling Bee, they may want to study these words over the next few weeks.  We will be giving all third graders a spelling bee screening test the on Tuesday, November 27th after Thanksgiving break to determine our three classroom spelling bee participants.  These tests will not be graded for a classroom grade. They are just a screener for us to qualify students for the spelling bee.

Homework for next week: We will not be assigning a Dictado sentence or mystery state because it is a short week, and we have a field trip and party planned for Friday.  

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. 10 minutes daily

Mark Your Calendar

Monday, November 12- NO SCHOOL VETERANS DAY

Tuesday, November 13 Coffee at Kohl 8:30-9:30 (Heather Hansen from the district will be talking about Literacy)

Friday, November 16th-Field Trip to see Annie the play

Friday, November 16th-Fall Party 1:30-2:30

November 19-23- NO SCHOOL- THANKSGIVING BREAK

Have a wonderful long weekend.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 2nd

Next week, we have PE on Wednesday.

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday!  It has been quite a week with Halloween falling on Wednesday. Today is the last day of our first trimester. It’s hard to believe your children are ⅓ of the way through their 3rd grade year! Report cards for first trimester will be available through the  Infinite Campus Parent Portal on Wednesday, November 14th.

Thank you to everyone who has returned the permission slip for our field trip to see Annie at the Broomfield library auditorium on Friday, November 16th.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered to chaperone for this trip. I am still waiting to hear back from the director about seating, but let’s plan on everyone attending. Amber Gray, Laura Meushaw, Sarah Schilling, Mary Ann Lawler, Lisa Fairlee, and Heidi Siguaw please come to the classroom at 8:10 to begin walking to the auditorium.  If there is not enough space for all chaperones to attend, I will let you know asap.   We will begin walking to the auditorium at 8:15 and will return to school by 1:30 for our fall party!  Students and chaperones will need a sack lunch for this trip. Thank you!

Curriculum Update

We continued to build fluency with 1s-10s multiplication and division.   We used order of operations (ask your child about PMDAS Please Make Dad A Sandwich) to solve multi-step word problems.  I am impressed with their hard work. We will have our Unit 2 math test on Thursday of next week. Then, we will begin our Measurement, Time, and Graphs unit.

Our Plant and Animal Life Cycles unit is coming to a close.  It has been fun to learn about the life cycles of butterflies, mealworms, and pea plants in our classroom. Next week, we will spend time comparing the life cycles of plants and animals.  We will have a unit test on Friday, November 9th. We will begin a social studies unit about regions when we return from Thanksgiving break.

Students read informational texts about migration this week and wrote an informational piece about why some animals and insects migrate.  Next week, students will be reading and writing about prairie dogs and will work on publishing one of their informational pieces the week of November 13th.

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10. 10 minutes daily

Mark Your Calendar

Monday, November 12- NO SCHOOL VETERANS DAY

Friday, November 16th-Field Trip to see Annie the play

Friday, November 16th-Fall Party 1:30-2:30

November 19-23- NO SCHOOL- THANKSGIVING BREAK

Have a fantastic weekend.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 26th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

Dear Parents,

Our field trip to the zoo was a great success. Thank you to all of the chaperones!  Next week, we will continue to make connections between our life cycles unit and the information that students collected about animals that they saw and wrote about at the zoo.

You will find a permission slip for our next field trip in your child’s Friday folder.  On Friday, November 16th we will be going to see Annie at the Broomfield Library Auditorium.  Please sign the permission slip and have your child return it to school as soon as possible. There is no cost for this trip!  We will walk to the auditorium at 8:15 and return to school by 1:30 for our fall party!

Thank you to those of you who have returned Read a Thon donation envelopes. Please have your child return their envelope as soon as possible. We greatly appreciate your support!

We had our last lesson with Thorne Nature Experience this week.  Students spent time creating a book about their learning.  Thank you to our PTA for funding our work with Thorne!

Curriculum Update
Students are reading and writing informational texts.  They have read and written about paleontologists and the difficulties of living in Alaska in the winter. Next week, students will be reading and writing about animal migration.  Please talk to your child about the purpose of informational writing and share interesting facts that you learn through your own reading of informational texts.

We are moving through our second math unit-Multiplication and Division 1-10s. Unit 2 has been a lot of practice with all of the multiplication and division facts and how to use them in one and now two step word problems. The class is doing a good job of using a step by step method to find the important information, think about what the problem is asking them to do and then writing and solving the equation.

Our life cycles unit has been enhanced through our lessons with Thorne and our trip to the zoo. Each student planted a pea seed and will be observing the stages of its life cycle over the next few weeks.  We have lots of sprouting seeds! We will be comparing the life cycles of our pea plants to the life cycles of animals like: a butterfly, frog, and mealworm.  

Our new literacy materials are providing us with some rich interactive read aloud experiences. We just finished a selection of texts all focusing on the importance of kindness. Students are learning to confidently identify the genre of texts and to discuss their thinking about texts using evidence from the text to support their ideas.

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10. 10 minutes daily

Mark Your Calendar

Friday, October 26th-Trunk or Treat 5:30-7:30

Friday, November 16th-Field Trip to see Annie the play

Friday, November 16th-Fall Party 1:30-2:30

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 19th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful day! Clearly, we have started experiencing our lovely Colorado winter weather with snow one day and sun the next.  Please remind your child to dress for the weather. Thank you!

We had a fantastic Read a Thon week!  The gym was transformed into a reading wonderland on Wednesday, and students enjoyed our class read in today!  Thank you for supporting your child with collecting pledges for this important school fundraiser. The first class to return 100% of their Donation envelopes will be awarded with a prize!  We will also get a class treat if we have 100% participation. Any size donation is appreciated and counts toward our 100% participation goal.

Our field trip to the Denver Zoo is next Thursday, October 25th!  Thank you to everyone who has returned the permission slip and fee. Students will need to bring a cold lunch and dress for being outside at the zoo for the day.  Thank you to our chaperones: Becky Jones, Sasha Davis, Amber Gray, Dana Harris, Kimberly Garnett, Karen Hunter, and Heidi Siguaw. You will need a sack lunch and $5 for the zoo entrance fee.  Please come to our classroom at 8:45. Thank you!

Thank you for coming to your child’s parent teacher conference.  After meeting with all of you I understand why we have such a wonderful class.  You are a group of very supportive parents. Please continue to talk to your child about their goals at school and let me know if you have any questions or concerns as the year progresses.

I spoke with many of you about the importance of studying math facts with your child. Rolling two ten sided dice is a fun way to practice facts. The fact fluency folder on MobyMax also provides a good platform for students to practice +,-, X, and / facts. Learning Wrap-ups are another fun way to practice. They are an inexpensive tool for kids to use to practice their facts anywhere. You can find them at learningwrapups.com or on amazon.

You should have your child’s MobyMax and Reading Plus or iReady username and passwords. Please have your use Reading Plus or iReady at least once a week.  

Homework for next week:

• ReadingPlus or iReady lessons at least once per week.
• Read at least 20 min nightly.

• Check in with your child about their Mystery State assignment.  Help your child practice their Dictado sentence. This should be written in their homework notebook each week.
• Practice math X and / facts 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10. 10 minutes daily

Mark Your Calendar:

Thursday, October 25th-Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

Friday, October 26th- Read-a-Thon envelopes due

Friday, October 26th-Trunk or Treat 5:30-7:30

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt