Friday, August 28th

QUICK REMINDERS:

1. Individual Picture Day-Thursday, September 3^rd  Don’t forget to turn in your order form, if you would like pictures.

2. NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7^th - LABOR DAY

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, I will start assessing spelling skills by testing the first 25 words on the BVSD 3rd grade Must Write word list. The list contains 100 words third graders must master by the end of the year. Your child will create a personal spelling list to study at school from the words they misspell on the assessment. I put a link on my website with all 100 words so you can help your child practice these words at home. Next week, we will also begin a unit on narrative writing.

On Monday, Mrs. Sbrocca will be giving students a reading assessment using i-Ready. We started using this reading assessment last year at 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 almost every child. I have a few more to finish on Monday.  This information gives me a snapshot of where your child is in math.  On Monday, we will start our first math unit on Multiplication and Division. Students will begin nightly math homework on Tuesday, September 1^st. 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 Policy:

Your children did a great job with their first homework assignment, the mystery state. All students returned it completed and were able to have Friday Fun this week. As the homework load increases, I wanted to share with you my policy about homework completion.

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 a nightmare experience. Please keep the lines of communication open with me if you are experiencing any issues with homework. I am here to help.

Reading Logs:

This week we completed the Reading log in class so that your child would understand the requirements. Here they are in a nutshell:

       · Each third grader is expected to read a Just Right book of their choice for 25 minutes per night (total of 100 minutes per week)

      · After reading, they are to write 2-3 complete sentences about what they are reading as well as marking their reading time.

      · Reading logs will come home on Mondays with the Mystery State and are due on Friday morning.

      · Short weeks -reading times with be adjusted and students will note that on their logs.

      · Each child has an example reading log in their Homework folder, and they will bring it home next week.

      Thank you for hanging in there with me for this rather long update. As the year goes on, I will try to make these shorter.

I hope you all have a safe and relaxing weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Welcome Update

August 21, 2015

            

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. I do not provide snack so please be sure to send a healthy snack with your child.

Volunteers:

Thank you to the volunteers who signed up at Open House. Your help is greatly appreciated.  Please make sure you have been cleared by BVSD to volunteer before joining us in the classroom.   If you signed up for Book Box reading time, you can start coming the week of August 31st.   Book box time runs from 12:00-12:30.  We still need a room parent.  This job can be shared!  Please email me if you are willing to take this job.  Thank you!

Homework:

Next week, students will be responsible for completing a mystery state assignment for homework.  This assignment will be given on Monday and is due on Friday.  We will complete a weekly reading log in class next week, so that students have a good model for what is expected on the reading log.  During the week of  August 31st, students will be assigned a reading log, mystery state, and math for homework.  Short math assignments are given on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and are due the next day. 

Important Dates for Your Calendar:

Thursday, September 3- Picture Day

Monday, September 7- NO SCHOOL- Labor Day

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. The best way to contact me is by email (aisha.galt-theis@bvsd.org).

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

Welcome to Third Grade!

I hope to see you at our Kohl Open House tomorrow, August 19th from 4:00 to 6:00.

April 9th

Thursday, April 9^th

Dear Parents,

We have had a busy week in third grade. Your children are working hard and learning a lot.

We had two special guests this week. First, Ms. Pam from the Fire Department visited third grade and talked to us about bicycle safety. Be sure to ask your child what they learned about how to properly fit a bicycle helmet and the rules of the road while bicycling, as the weather gets warmer. We always love having her come to visit us. 

Our second guests were from Broomfield High School Theater department. They will be performing the musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" next week (April 16-18) at the high school, and we were lucky enough to have some of the cast perform a little bit of the show for us today. If you are looking for some fun family entertainment, be sure to check this out.

Writing:

Your children are currently working on an informative writing unit. Each child has chosen a topic to research. In this unit they will learn to ask questions, research, take notes, organize their information, and then synthesize all of their research into a well-organized informational book. We are looking forward to showing you our progress during the upcoming Learning Fair. 

We had our first meeting with our Middle School writing buddies. It was a lot of fun. The kids got to know each other, and now the middle schoolers are busy back at their school drafting their stories for our students. Our next visit with them will be on Tuesday, April 21 from 1:30-2:30. Please try not to schedule any appointments during that time. Thank you.

Math:

We are working on a unit which involves understanding and solving multi-step word problems. The unit test will be next Wednesday or Thursday.

Science:

Our new science unit is all about Earth Materials. Your children will be learning about rocks, soil, layers of the earth, and the rock cycle. We are planning a field trip in May to Dinosaur Ridge as a culminating activity for this unit. More to come as the trip gets closer. 

Important Dates:

Friday, April 17- NO SCHOOL 

Monday, April 20- NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, April 21- Middle School buddies

Thursday, April 23- Learning Fair 4-6:30pm

Final End of Year PARCC testing will be April 28, 29 and 30. Please plan accordingly.  Thank you!

Have a great weekend. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt

March 18th, 2015

March 18^th, 2015

Dear Parents,

The third grade music program is tomorrow at 6:30 in the gym. Students need to be here by 6:15.  There is a dress rehearsal on Thursday, March 15^th at 12:30.  You are welcome to come to the dress rehearsal if you would like.

Students will take their last PARCC test for this testing session tomorrow morning.  We are very proud of our students’ efforts.  In order to celebrate all of their hard work we are going to have a movie morning on Friday, March 20^th.  Students are allowed to wear pajamas if they want to.

In math, we are finishing up with our fractions unit.  There is going to be a math test for this unit on Friday.  We will begin Unit 5: Write Equations to Solve Word Problems when we return from spring break.  Please remind your child to continue studying their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. All of these operations will be used in the next unit.

We will begin a unit on Informational Writing when we return from break.  Students will be selecting a topic they are interested in researching and following the writing process to publish an informational writing piece.  We plan to share our work with you during the Kohl Learning Fair on Thursday, April 23^rd. 

We started our Economics unit in social studies this week and will continue this unit of study when we return from break.  Please ask your child about what they are learning.

Important Upcoming Dates

March 19^th: Third Grade Music Program 6:30

March 21^st-March 29th: Spring Break

Thanks again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Ms. Galt

February 11th

Wednesday, February 11^th

Dear Parents,

Here is a short update and some important dates to remember:

·         Our Valentine’s Day Party is tomorrow, Thursday the 12^th. It is our last official Kohl party of the year. Please join us from 1:30 - 2:30.  Thank you to all of the parents who help make our parties possible!  

·         There is no school for kids on Friday, February 13^th and Monday, February 16^th. The class comes back on Tuesday the 17th. Enjoy the long weekend.

·         Our parent/ teacher conferences are February 24th and 26th. An email about signing up was sent out by the office this week.  Please sign up, and if you have any questions or concerns please let me know. I look forward to meeting with each of you.

 .

Writing:

Students are planning and drafting multi-paragraph persuasive/opinion pieces.  The class is doing a fantastic job. We hope to have our published work up in the hall for you to view during conferences.  

Math

We started our Geometry Unit this week. Students are learning many new geometry vocabulary terms. Please review them with your child. This will be a huge help for this unit. Please don't forget to keep up with their multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction tables! The students and I went over the test they took last week on place value, adding, and subtracting.  I will return this test to you during our parent/teacher conference. The class did very well as a whole.

Science

Our matter and measurement unit has been full of many fun, hands-on activities.  Students are building their understanding of how we measure the three states of matter and how matter changes phase.   

Reading

Our class is reading many short stories and non-fiction texts together. We are focusing on identifying details from the text to support student answers. Please take the time to review your child’s reading log to ensure they are thinking more deeply about the texts they are reading at home.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aisha Galt