Friday, December 13th

We have PE on Wednesday the week of January 6th.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Saturday, December 21st- Monday, January 6th-Winter Break

Tuesday, January 7th-First day back after Winter Break

Dear Parents,

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

The Kohl Spelling Bee was this week. Our finalists, Eli Hedberg and Elena Miesel, 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 feel loved by all your thoughtfulness. Thank you.

Over break, please continue to have your child practice their daily reading and math fact routine. 
Also, your child can access their my.bvsd.org account from home. There is a card in your child’s
Friday folder with their mybvsd username (child’s first initial, middle initial, last name, 01)
and password (bvsd, lunch number, .c). This account will give them access to iReady
(math and reading lessons), Reading Plus, Brain Pop, our Google Classroom and much more.

Please see the informational letter in your child’s Friday folder about a program that we are
participating in with Blue Sky Bridge. There is a Parent Information session about the program
on Tuesday, January 7th from 5:00 to 6:00 at Kohl.

Thank you again for supporting your kids every day! Happy holidays and have a safe and restful break. 
See you all in 2020!!

Students first day back is Tuesday, January 7th.

Sincerely,

Aisha Galt

Friday, December 13th

Next week, we have PE on Monday and Thursday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Friday, December 20th-Winter Party 1:30-2:30 

Please use the link below to sign-up to bring something to our winter party.  Thank you! 
https://bvsd.helpatschools.com/schools/15/events/5593

Saturday, December 21st-January 6th-Winter Break

Tuesday, January 7th-First day back after Winter Break

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, 19th from 10:00 to 11:00.  Eli Hedberg and Elena Miesel
will represent our third grade class in the spelling bee.  

Literacy:
This week we completed author study with Janell Cannon. Next week, we will begin an interactive read

aloud unit focusing on Humorous Texts.  During our writing block, students read a realistic fiction narrative
about a young bird that gets trapped in a storm drain.  Students worked on drafting a narrative that tells the
story of what happens to the bird after it flies out of the storm drain. 
Ask them about their story if you have time.

Math:

We will finish our math unit on Measurement, Time and Graphing early next week. Our unit test will be
on Thursday, December 19th.  After break, we will start Unit 4, Addition and Subtraction of
Multi-digit 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. 

Science.  

We started our Metric Measurement and Matter unit. We are learning about the metric system of
measurement. This week we meter tapes to measure distance. Next week, we will use balance
scales to measure mass in grams and syringes and graduated cylinders to measure
liquid volume in milliliters. 

Have a fantastic weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, December 6th

Next week, we have PE on Wednesday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Wednesday, December 11th-Ugly Sweater Day

Friday, December 20th-Winter Party 1:30-2:30 (more details to come)

Saturday, December 21st-January 6th-Winter Break

Tuesday, January 7th-First day back after Winter Break

Dear Parents,

This was another busy week in third grade. I cannot believe it is already December! We are already planning for the end of 2019!  Students spent some time developing their phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary skills through short iReady lessons.  We will be completing the winter iReady Diagnostic test next week. Please encourage your child to take their time and do their best! 

Literacy:

This week we started another author study with Janell Cannon. She has written many wonderful books, like Stellaluna. We enjoyed listening to her stories. Next week, we will continue to read a few more of her books.  We will compare and contrast her books as well as use them to understand how authors use characters in their writing.  During our writing block, students worked on writing a personal narrative about a memorable small moment from their lives.  

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 Thursday, December 19th.

Social Studies:

We completed our local community/government unit. Students have learned about many important people in our local government, how our local government works, and how we can have a voice in our community. Next week, we will begin a science unit on Metric Measurement and Matter.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 22nd

The week after Thanksgiving break we have PE Tuesday and Friday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

November 25th-29th-No School/ Thanksgiving Break

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday!   We had a fantastic time at the Guys and Dolls play!  The Backstory Theater productions are always impressive!  Thank you to the chaperones for supporting us on this walking field trip.

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!

I wanted to congratulate our Kohl Spelling Bee finalists. Eli Hedberg and James Alexander will represent our third grade class in the spelling bee. Elena Miesel  is our alternate. The spelling bee is scheduled for Thursday, December 19th from 10:00 to 11:00.

Please encourage your child to continue reading and practicing math facts next week.  Many students have been enjoying using Flashmaster devices to practice math facts. A Flashmaster might be a great holiday gift if your child enjoys using one.  It seems like there is also a free Flashmaster app, which I have not used, but could be great. Here is a link to the Flashmaster site: https://flashmaster.com/

 Here are a few ideas about how you can integrate math in your child’s daily life:

• Card games
• Dice games 
• Puzzles 
• Everyday math: when you're on a hike with your child pose questions. Example: 

"Hey, a group of three people and two dogs just passed us. How many legs were there altogether?"

• Baking- kids can use measuring cups and follow recipes.  Talk about multiplication arrays when you place the cookies on the cookie tray- "Oh, I see you made a 4x4 array. How many cookies are there?"

• Quiz your child on multiplication and division facts 1-10 and addition and subtraction through 20 while in the car. 
• Take a walk and help your child count by  3s,4s, 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s.
• Count forward and backwards across the decades.

Our Student Council Box Tops fundraiser has started once again. This year, however, it is all digital. You will find a sheet in your child’s Friday folder that will explain how to scan your box tops on your phone and then keep track of the number you have collected. This is a contest for all the grade levels! Let’s see if we can collect the most!

 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 15th

Next week we have PE on Monday and Thursday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Friday, November 22nd-Field Trip to see Guys and Dolls

November 25th-29th-No School/ Thanksgiving Break

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone who has returned the permission slip for our field trip to see Guys and Dolls at the Broomfield library auditorium on Friday, November 22nd.  Thank you to those of you who volunteered to chaperone for this trip. Cortney Kraham and Nadia Thrower please come to the classroom at 8:10.   We will begin walking to the auditorium at 8:15 and will return to school by 1:30.  Students and chaperones will need to dress for the weather and bring a sack lunch for this trip.  Thank you!

Report cards for first trimester are available through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Your child has a copy of Spelling Bee study words in their Friday folder.  The Kohl Spelling Bee is scheduled for Thursday, December 19th from 10:00 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 weekend.  We will be giving all third graders a spelling bee screening test on Monday, November 18th  to determine our three (2 participants and 1 alternate) 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.

 Curriculum Update:

Last week we finished up Unit 2 (Multiplication and Division 0-10) in math. All assessments will be in Friday folders today. Overall, the class did a great job on this assessment. It always amazes me how much they have learned over such a short period of time. Keep working on all of the multiplication and division facts at home.

We started Unit 3, which is Measurement, Time and Graphing. This unit is a bit shorter and will be completed shortly after Thanksgiving break.

This week we started working on writing an opinion piece about the best pets for apartment living. All of the students wrote a piece about the best pet for apartments and used evidence from the text to support their opinion.  Each week students are also engaging in interactive read alouds, independent reading, writing about reading, and word work lessons.

We have been working on a unit about our community.  Last week, we talked about who works in a community and the difference between public and private services. This week, we explored  who works at City Hall and talked about how the government works in a local setting.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 8th

Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Monday, November 11th: No School Veteran’s Day

Dear Parents,

You will find a permission slip for our next field trip in your child’s Friday folder.  On Friday, November 22nd we will be going to see Guys and Dolls by Backstory Theater 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 are only able to take 2 parents per class for this trip due to tickets/seats in the Auditorium. If you would like to be considered for this trip, and have completed the background check, please sign the bottom of the permission slip and return it.  If more than 2 parents respond, I will do a lottery to choose. 

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!

Enjoy the long weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, November 1st

Next week we have PE on Monday and Thursday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Monday, November 11th: No School Veteran’s Day

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday!  It has been quite a week with winter weather late starts and Halloween.  Thank you to all of the parents who contributed to our Halloween Harvest Party! The kids enjoyed delicious snacks, relaxed social time, and playing games.  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 Thursday, November 14th.

Curriculum Update:

We continued to build fluency with 1s-10s multiplication and division.   We used order of operations (ask your child about PMDAS) 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 has come to a close.  It has been fun to learn about the life cycles of mealworms and pea plants in our classroom. Our trip to the zoo and our lessons with Thorne Nature experience have been a great compliment to our unit.   We will begin a social studies unit about local government next week.

Students read an opinion piece called Recycle It! They then wrote their own opinion piece about the importance of recycling using reasons from the text to support their opinion.   Next week, students will be reading and writing about what pet they think is best for apartment living. 

We completed our Patricia Polacco author study and are starting a nonfiction text set next week.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 25th

Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Thursday, October 31st: Halloween Parade and Party 8:00-9:00

Monday, November 11th: No School Veteran’s Day

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 was shared during our life cycles class at the zoo. 

Thank you for coming to your child’s parent teacher conference.  After meeting with all of you, I understand why we have such a special 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.

Curriculum Update:

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 pea seeds and is observing the stages of its life cycle.  We have lots of sprouting seeds! We are comparing the life cycles of our pea plants to the life cycles of animals like: a butterfly, frog, and mealworm.  

Our literacy materials are providing us with some rich interactive read aloud experiences. We are reading a selection of texts by Patricia Polacco and are discussing the characteristics of her writing. 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.

Enjoy the warm weather today and tomorrow, it looks like we are in for a big weather change on Sunday.  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 18th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

QUICK REMINDERS:
Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 24th Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, October 24th-Denver Zoo Field Trip

Dear Parents,

We had a fantastic Jog-a-Thon!  The positive, excited energy was high!  Thank you for supporting your child with collecting pledges for this important school fundraiser.   Any size donation is appreciated and counts toward our 90% participation goal. Please have your child return their donations by Wednesday, October 23rd.

Please sign up for a Parent Teacher Conference! Thank you to those of you who have already done so.  I look forward to meeting with you next week.

If you have not had a chance to sign-up yet or need to check your conference time, please do so using the following link: https://bvsd.helpatschools.com/schools/15/conferences. 

Thank you for signing the permission slip and paying the fee for our upcoming field trip to the Denver Zoo on Thursday, October 24th.  

Please use the following link to sign the permission slip, express interest in chaperoning, and pay the field trip fee:

https://kohlelemen.revtrak.net/r1#/f/2019-3rd-grade-field-trip-denver-zoo

Students will need a sack lunch, proper clothing for the weather and a drink with a lid. 

We are working on our plant and animal life cycles unit.  Through the generous support of our PTA, we will be able to supplement this unit with the in-school Thorne Nature and Science program.  They will be working with our students on the next three Tuesdays.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 11th

Next week we have PE on Thursday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Monday, October 14th-Teacher Professional Development Day-No School for Students

Tuesday, October 15th- Jog-a-Thon (12:45 to 1:30)

Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 24th Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, October 24th-Denver Zoo Field Trip

Dear Parents,

Thank you to those of you who have signed up for a Parent Teacher Conference!

Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 24th. If you have not had a chance to sign-up yet, please do so using the following link: https://bvsd.helpatschools.com/schools/15/conferences. 

If for some reason these dates do not work for your schedule, please let me know so we can arrange another time to meet. Your child is welcome to come to the conference.

Our first field trip to the zoo has been scheduled for Thursday, October 24th.  

Please use the following link to sign the permission slip, express interest in chaperoning, and pay the field trip fee:

https://kohlelemen.revtrak.net/r1#/f/2019-3rd-grade-field-trip-denver-zoo

If you would like to join us for this field trip and have completed your background check, please check your schedule and let us know via the Revtrack link that you would like to join us.  Thank you! The fee for this trip is $15. This will cover a class we will take with zoo staff and the bus fee. As always, if you have financial difficulty, please contact Julie Cutshall or Stacey Blicker in the office. Also if you need a paper copy of the permission slip, please let me know, and I will send one home with your child. 

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, October 4th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Friday, October 11th- Jog-a-Thon (12:45-1:30)

Monday, October 14th-Teacher Professional Development Day-No School for Students

Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 24th Parent Teacher Conferences

Dear Parents,

Please check your child’s Friday folder about the upcoming Jog-A-Thon. 

The online sign up for parent-teacher conferences should be available to you on Monday, October 7th. Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday, October 24th. Thank you in advance for signing up. I am looking forward to sharing your child's progress and setting some goals for this year. If for some reason these dates do not work for your schedule, please let me know so we can arrange another time to meet. It is important that I communicate with all my families during conference time.  Your child is welcome to come to the conference.

Our first field trip to the zoo has been scheduled for Thursday, October 24th.  This trip will be a great extension for our current life cycles science unit. We hope to send out a Revtrack link that can be used to sign the permission slip, express interest in chaperoning, and pay the field trip fee.  If you would like to join us for this field trip and have completed your background check, please check your schedule and let us know via the Revtrack link that you would like to join us. Thank you! The fee for this trip will be $15. This will cover a class we will take with zoo staff and the bus fee. As always, if you have financial difficulty, please contact Julie Cutshall or Stacey Blicker in the office. 

We will continue to investigate growth mindset throughout the year.  I have added a sheet of growth mindset questions to the back cover of your child’s Friday folder.  These questions can help shift us toward a growth mindset and can be a helpful guide when you are supporting your child with their homework and connecting with them about their day. Here are just a few examples from the sheet:

1. What made you think/work hard today?
2. What would you do differently next time to make things work better?
3. What strategy can you try?
4. Did you work as hard as you could have?
5. Did you ask for help if you needed it?

Math: 

We started our second chapter in math; Multiplication and Division with 6s, 7s, 8s and Multiplying with Multiples of 10. Please continue to support your child with nightly multiplication and division math fact practice. This practice is imperative for fact memorization.

Literacy:

We finished reading a text unit about Sharing Our World With Animals during our interactive read aloud time. Students also started to use their Reader’s Notebooks to keep track of the books they are reading and to write their thoughts about their reading.  

This week we worked on writing five sentence paragraphs and dug into the details of writing a powerful topic sentence.  Next week, we will practice writing three relevant details with transition words and a strong conclusion sentence.
During our word study lessons this week, we spent time exploring how reference tools, such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and glossaries, use ABC order to organize words. Students practiced putting words in ABC order and using dictionaries to define words. 

Science:

We started our life cycles unit.  This week we explored the characteristics of living, nonliving, and dead things.  We also dissected pea seeds and identified the seed coat, embryo, and cotyledon. Next week, students will plant pea seeds and begin observing the life cycle stages.  

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, September 20th

Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

Saturday, September 21st Broomfield Days Parade: The Broomfield Days Community Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. There is an informational letter about the parade in your child’s Friday Folder. Our school colors are blue and white!

Dear Parents,

Thank you to everyone for making sure your child attended our assessment day last Friday.  I was able to get some great information about students’ writing skills and will use this information to guide my instruction over the next few weeks as we practice writing sentences and paragraphs.

Math: This week we continued to work on multiplication and division. Your child has now been introduced to the multiplications/divisions for 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10. Please continue to encourage your child to spend at least 5 minutes a day practicing these facts. Our expectation is that our third graders will be fluent with all the facts through 10s by the end of this year. The more practice, the easier it gets.

We will have our first unit assessment on Thursday of next week. This will cover all multiplications and divisions of 0,1,2,3,4,5,9 and 10 facts. Students will need to be able to solve math fact problems and word problems using both multiplication and division. I will be able to support students on the test by reading the problems, but they need to be able to do the math on their own.

Please take some time to look over your child’s nightly math homework.  This will give you a snapshot of what we are working on in class. Students have been introduced to the area model and the distributive property of multiplication. These concepts are difficult for some students to understand, please know that we will continue to revisit this formula and strategy for problem solving.  

Social Studies/Science: We have been working on a unit about our community.  This week we spent time investigating how and why individuals work in their communities to change things for the better.  We also discussed how each of us plays an important part in our community and that every little bit that we do for others counts.  Next week, will continue to explore our community and what it means to be citizen. 

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, September 6th

Next week we have PE on Wednesday.

QUICK REMINDERS:

1. Friday, September 13th- Assessment Day- Please use Help At School to sign-up for an assessment time. Thank you to everyone who has already signed-up!
2. Monday, September 16th-No School for Students-Teacher Professional Development Day

Dear Parents,

We had a productive short week in 3rd grade.  Students are becoming more familiar with our homework routine and most students are turning their assignments in on time.  Remind your child to put their homework folder, which should contain their mystery state notebook and math workbook, in their backpack when they complete their daily homework. It is imperative that they return their math Homework and Remembering book each day because we often use them during our math block.  Nightly reading and math fact practice should also be part of your child’s homework routine. Thank you!

We had an assembly on Wednesday and students learned all about how a Growth Mindset can help us become successful learners in and outside of school. Many students have purchased a yo-yo from the assembly and are busy learning how to use them while out at recess. Yoyos will be sold through next week, before and after school as well as all day on Friday, our assessment day. 

Literacy:

This week students wrote short compare and contrast piece about two books from our Importance of Kindness text set.  They also have been working on word work lessons involving consonant clusters and using beginnings (onset) and endings (rime) of words to help us spell and read more fluently. 

Math:

This week we continued working with multiplication and division of 5s, 2s, 10s and 9s. Encourage your child to use their fingers to keep track of the count bys.  This visual helps with multiplication and division and builds a stronger understanding of the equation. For example: 5, 10, 15 would leave three fingers up. 3 x 5=15 and 15/5=3. Starting around the beginning of October we will begin doing timed tests on each of the facts that we have learned. Next week, we will be learning facts for 3s and 4s.

Social Studies:

This week we investigated what makes our community diverse. Next week, we will work in small groups and as a class to explore how different cultures contribute to our cultural diversity through food, languages, holidays, types of shelter, clothing, and traditions. 

Enjoy the weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Friday, August 30th

Next week we have PE on Tuesday and Friday.  Please make sure your child has gym shoes on these days.  Thank you!

QUICK REMINDERS:

1. NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd - LABOR DAY

2. Individual Picture Day-Friday, September 6th  Don’t forget to turn in your order form or pay online and return your receipt to school, if you would like pictures

3. Friday, September 13th- Assessment Day- Please use Help At School to sign-up for an assessment time.

Dear Parents,

We completed our second 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.

Students will need headphones in order to fully access many of the computer programs that we use here at school. We have some headphones, but please send your child with a pair of their own headphones or earbuds as soon as possible.  This way students can use one pair of headphones that fits them best for the school year.  The headphones will be returned home at the end of the school year. This is an item we are not allowed to purchase for your child with the classroom funds. Thank you.

Literacy:

We finished our Interactive Read Aloud text set about The Importance of Kindness.  Students discussed how the characters in the texts showed kindness and how kindness impacts their lives.  Next week, we will start a text set about Connecting Across Generations: Family.  

We started our Word Study lessons and investigated consonant clusters at the beginning and ends of words.  Students also completed their first iReady Diagnostic assessment this week. I will be sharing the results of this assessment with you during our first parent-teacher conference in October.

Math:

We are a handful of lessons into our first math unit on Multiplication and Division. Please review multiplication/division of 5s (0-10) with your child and talk with your child about when you use multiplication in your daily life. For example, at the store you might talk about calculating the cost buying multiples of one item: buying 4 boxes of cereal that each cost $5. We will have a multiplication 5s quiz next week.

Homework: 

We started homework this week.  Students will continue to get a mystery state at the beginning of the week, which is due at the end of the week.  They will also get short math assignments Monday through Thursday. These assignments are due the next 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.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt