October 23, 2009
Dear 3A
Families,
Progress reports are coming home today. These should give you a glimpse of how your
child is doing so far this year. You may
keep the report, but please sign and
return the envelope along with the conference planning sheet. I hope to receive a conference planning
sheet for each student so that I can be prepared for any concerns you might
have. The conference sign-up sheets have
been posted since Monday in the front hall.
Please sign up as soon as possible.
If none of the times listed work for you, please email me for other
options. Remember that your child should
come with you to the conference and will “lead the way.” It is always valuable to gain an
understanding from the child about how he/she thinks things are going.
We had our first Art Parent project this week. The kids created decorations for the ASB Holiday by the Sea auction. Students created a watercolor painting of a
beach, starfish, lighthouse or other image related to the sea. These pictures will include a photograph of
each of our students on the back of the watercolor painting and will be a
wonderful addition to the auction décor!
In literacy centers students began
reading novels in small groups this week.
Each group book involves food in some way. The kids will read together and share
activities involving these novels for the next few weeks. We also spent time reviewing how to
alphabetize words and practiced using the dictionary. Any help and support with this at home would
be greatly appreciated! Our spelling
unit focused on the long e and u vowel sounds, the /yu/
sound (as in mule and few), and the new sound made when h follows c, s, t or
w. This week students learned that they
will have pen pals from St. Joe’s third grade class. We brainstormed ideas for our first letter to
them and used a web to keep our ideas organized. We reviewed the friendly letter format
working on our first draft of the letter.
Our math centers focused on place value and number
patterns. We took a pre-assessment to
see how the students are doing in this area so far. This week students spent a lot of time
exploring number charts, and lists of numbers to find number patterns. Students applied their thinking about numbers
and patterns to solve higher-level thinking story problems.
This week in science we observed and documented the behavior
of the crayfish. For example, what
happens when you touch the carapace? Or,
what happens when you touch the antennae?
The kids are really enjoying the “class pets.”
Our social studies lessons focused on using a coordinate
grid to find our way on a map. We looked
at a map of
Pheidippides ran from Marathon to
Reminders
·
October
23rd – Progress reports go home
·
October
24th – ASB Halloween Carnival 4pm-7pm in the FAFC
·
October
28th – Cougar Mountain Zoo Field Trip! We are counting on our drivers: Bender,
Knowles, Tiesi, Deisher, and Stapleton. At
this point we need room for 5 more students, so that means we need 1 more driver or we can’t go.
Please let Mark know if you can drive by Monday so that we have
adequate time to cancel, if need be.
·
October
30th – Mystery Book Report due (I realize I forgot to send binders
home with your kids today and I really apologize!)
·
October
30th – 3A class Halloween Party!
Our party is from 2-3PM. Students
may wear their costumes that day.
Following school policy however, they will not be allowed to wear masks
or to have weapons, blood, or gore as a part of their costume at school.
·
November
4th, 5th, 6th – Half days for fall conferences
(there is still plenty of space to sign up in the front hall).
Have a great
weekend! J Chris and Mark
October 16, 2009
Dear
Parents,
“Time flies
when you’re having fun,” and indeed, time does seem to be flying by. We began the week putting together the basic
strokes we have been learning in cursive to form our first letters: i and t. The kids
were excited to be able to spell their first word in cursive. Our language centers included work in our Daybooks to learn about the parts of a
story – particularly its characters and setting. Next week we will move on to plot. Our spelling unit had us revisit the concept
of homophones (something the kids were introduced to in second grade) and the
children made a class book filled with these.
We also studied the oo sound, and learned that
a vowel followed by r makes a new sound (consider moth and north). We spent a large portion of our writing time
this week learning about the parts of a paragraph and how to make these parts
clear and effective (especially the topic and closing sentences). The kids learned how to use a writing rubric
to help guide their writing and were also given examples of what constitutes
the various marks on the rubric (“no,” “sort of,” and “yes”). Showing them real examples of a good topic
sentence or neat printing, for example, really helps them to understand what their
target is.
Our math lessons included learning the difference between
congruent and similar, and also included exploring the concept of
perimeter. We took a checkpoint early in
the week to see how kids were doing and then gave the chapter test today. This wrapped up our study of 2-dimensional
geometry. We will move into the study of
place value and money next week.
We have completed the first two units of our Second Step program. These units focused on empathy training and
impulse control/problem solving. This
week we began a new unit on anger management and had lessons about dealing with
accusations and about controlling our anger.
We will continue to talk about these things in class and would
appreciate any support you bring to our Second Step program from home. Our religion chapter this week focused on the
Holy Trinity. We talked about this being
a mystery of our faith and realized
that it’s okay not to understand everything we believe in completely. The kids gave many examples of mysteries of
their faith – death, sickness, heaven, etc.
We discussed the fact that we are all part of one family with God as our
father.
Our social studies unit continues its focus on geography –
specifically, maps. We learned about map
keys (also called legends). The kids
learned that symbols on map keys are typically fairly simple and should make
sense. They created their own symbols
for a variety of items that might occur on a map. Next week we will explore the concept of
scale.
In science we continued our study of crustaceans. We
learned the scientific names of the structures of a crayfish and labeled a
diagram with these names. Our study of the structures of life in science
focuses not only on the environment’s affect on organisms, but also on how
these organisms adapt to thrive in a variety of environments. This fits
in nicely with our first field trip - a tour of the Cougar Mountain Zoo
in Issaquah. This zoo is dedicated to educating people about endangered
wildlife. Our field trip will be Wednesday, October 28th.
If you have not returned the field trip form, there is an extra one in your
child’s Friday Folder today. Please return it to school on Monday.
Reminders:
October 19th to October 22nd – Fall
Book Fair after school in the library
October 20th–
Ida Culver (see volunteer calendar)
October 23rd
– Progress reports go home
October 28th
– Cougar Mountain Zoo field trip
October 30th
– Mystery Book
Report due (binders are coming home today)
November 4th,
5th, 6th – Half days for fall conferences
Keep dry this weekend!
October 8,
2009
Dear
Families,
What a beautiful autumn we’re having! Our four-day week just flew by. We finished our class novel
In science students had a chance to observe all four types
of seeds their group has been growing.
They examined their seedlings to compare four different properties. Students looked for seedlings that were
swollen (grown larger than its dormant seed), had shed its seed coat (the
protective outer layer), were growing roots, and growing leaves. Students are discovering that each seed
develops differently, and at its own pace (hmm, much like humans!).
In social studies, students were able to create their own
compass roses using their knowledge of right angles, less than right angles,
and greater than right angles and their “angle maker” tools. Look for their compass roses in the Friday
Folder. They may wish to hang these in
their bedrooms – just be sure they know where north is!
We began working in our math textbook to continue our study
of geometry. Our focus in geometry has
been 2-D figures. We have been learning
to recognize and form lines, line segments, rays and angles, and to name
congruent and similar figures. We will
have a “Checkpoint” next week to see how the kids are coming along with these
concepts. Today we created tangrams (shapes using seven standard geometric
pieces). This fun project incorporated
math, art, and writing. Look for these
to come home soon. We also continued to
practice our math fact binders and will soon feel comfortable enough to send
them for home use.
Reminders:
Friday, October 9th
– Archdiocesan in-service, no school.
Monday, October 12th– Faculty in-service, students out at noon.
Monday, October 12th – Book orders due (make one check to
Scholastic Books, no cash)
Wednesday, October 14th –
3rd grade attends morning Mass (dress uniform, please)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Chris and Mark
October 2, 2009
Dear
Parents,
We had a busy and active week in 3A. Our religion this week focused on the
importance of working and learning together as a community. We learned the difference between church and Church, the latter referring to the People of God gathered in the
name of Christ. We had an opportunity to
talk more about community after P.E. today.
Apparently, there was an argument about who was “out” which really made
the kids’ class time a negative one. We
had a class meeting to discuss what happened and decided that the next time
there was a dispute we’d really try our best to be flexible in the interest of
keeping the game fun (sometimes easier said than done for 8- and
9-year-olds).
In social studies, we continued learning about
geography. The kids learned the cardinal directions (north, south, east,
and west) and also the intercardinal
directions (northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast) which are also
sometimes referred to as intermediate directions. We will continue these lessons next week
through the use of art and maps.
In science, students learned that seeds use the food stored
in the cotyledon structure of a plant to grow. The time when seeds begin
to grow and develop is called germination. We were able to witness first
hand that some seeds (just like humans) grow faster than others! We also
learned the name for growing plants in water – hydroponics. Students
started creating a poster to illustrate when and why hydroponics would be used
instead of soil.
Our literacy centers had us working on Unit 3 in
spelling. We focused on the spelling
patterns for long a, short o, and the j sound.
The kids had several opportunities in class to practice our challenge
words. We found this necessary after a
look at the dismal results of last Friday’s challenge word test. I find myself asking, “Are the words too
challenging, or are the kids not studying?”
I have found that quick challenge word reviews in class motivate the
kids to learn, but I’m still counting on you to have them practice these words
at home. We continued our cursive
lessons by strengthening our undercurve stroke. Most kids did quite well and we are now ready
to move on to our next basic stroke - the overcurve.
We continued our class novel,
We continued our math focus on geometry and began using our
math textbook to review polygons and the vocabulary associated with them (e.g.
congruent, symmetry, parallel, right angle).
We practiced our addition and subtraction facts in our binders and
employed some mental math strategies such as counting on or using doubles to
help us. When the students are
comfortable using the math fact binders, we will no longer take our class time
to work on them but will send them home as part of their daily math-fact
practice. We will need about two more
weeks working together in class before you will see the binders come home. Don’t worry, we will send home instructions
at that time.
We are sending home
completed assignments today. Your child
needs to select one assignment as their “proud paper” and complete the
reflection sheet about it. The proud
paper and reflection sheet should come back to school on Monday. We had quite a few kids forget to do this
last week. I’m hoping for full
participation this week.
Reminders:
·
All
classroom volunteers must attend a Safe Environment
training. See below for details about how to sign up. For more
information, please refer to Ms. Hand’s letter sent out in the September 23rd
Wednesday envelope.
The training takes between 2 and 3
hours, depending on the presenter and length of Q and A. Please plan on
attending the training as soon as possible. You can do the training here or at
any other parish/school in the archdiocese. I’ve listed a few of the options
here:
October 4 at St.
Benedict Parish - 1:30 p.m.
October 6 at Our Lady
of the
October 8 at St.
Benedict Parish – 6:30 p.m.
October 12 at
Assumption Parish Fellowship Hall – 8:45 a.m.
October 22, Assumption
Parish Fellowship Hall - 7:00 p.m.
To register, or to find additional
sessions:
1. Go to the Archdiocese of Seattle
website: http://www.seattlearch.org.
2. Click on the Safe Environment
logo.
3. Click: Register for classes.
·
Please
continue to sell giftwrap. The third and Final Tally Day is October 7th. Third grade is currently in third place—we
can do it!
·
Thursday,
October 7th – Individual picture day and
Mass (nice free dress).
·
Friday,
October 9th – Archdiocesan in-service, no school.
·
Friday,
October 30th – Next book
report due – Mystery (look for a form in your child’s binder next
Monday, or click on the link above).
Have a great weekend!
Chris and Mark
September 25, 2009
Dear
Parents,
Beautiful sunshine!
We finished out the week reflecting on the beauty of God’s creation and
our call to stewardship. We also enjoyed
reviewing two songs related to God’s creation:
“All Good Things” from Godspell, and “All
Things New” by Steven Curtis Chapman.
The kids love the integration of music into our learning and I will
continue to provide this for them. I did
have to talk to a few kids who took away from the beauty of the songs by being
a bit too silly, but I trust this won’t happen again. Our chapter this week focused on recognizing
God and His presence in our families and our home lives. Students learned that our families are like domestic (home) Churches. Our families reinforce the Church’s teachings
about treating one another with respect and love.
Our religion unit on creation and family nurturing this week
tied in nicely to our science and social studies lessons. In science the kids continued to nurture and
observe their sprouting seeds. We discussed the fact that the seeds
managed to grow with just one resource - water! They noticed that all the
seeds (give or take a few that didn’t make it) had grown and become swollen
only because each seed had absorbed the water provided it. In order to
find out how much water the seeds are able to hold, students used scales to
measure the mass of dry lima bean seeds.
Today, students measured the mass of the lima bean seeds again after
being soaked in water for 24 hours. They used their math skills to figure
out how much water had actually been absorbed.
In social studies, students have moved from the study of
communities to a new area of geography – how to find their place in the
world. We learned some of the tools that
help us find our way: maps, globes, compasses, stars,
and GPS devices. We learned that boaters
use a special word for maps (charts),
and that ancient mariners thought that straying too far from dry land would
cause them to fall off the flat earth.
We learned about two famous explorers, Columbus
and Magellan, and even learned the old saying, “In 1400 and 92,
We have officially
started cursive! Your students worked
toward completing a poem in cursive as a “pretest” for the year. At the end of the year they will have the
opportunity to complete the same poem, but this time as proficient cursive
writers. They will be able to evaluate
their work and feel pride in their progress.
We began our first cursive lesson by learning the undercurve
stroke. Most kids did quite well, but we
will not move on until we have mastered this most important basic stroke. Look for more cursive to come. We’re continuing to work through our spelling
program and worked this week on long a, i and o, and
the digraphs ch, sh, th, and wh. Thank you for checking your child’s binder
each night to help them practice their spelling pattern words for the week as
well as their “challenge words.”
In literacy centers (reading and writing) we have been
working through our Daybooks. This week
we practiced recognizing the main idea in both non-fiction and fiction
paragraphs. We also started being able to recognize a paragraph and to write a
descriptive paragraph. We will continue
learning about paragraph writing next week.
Our math lessons continued their focus on geometry. This week students worked on “The Four
Toothpick Problem” by Marilyn Burns. In
this problem students had to work in groups to reposition 4 toothpicks in as
many ways as possible to create patterns using only right angles, (sometimes known
as square corners). This activity reinforced the students’
understanding of congruency and strengthened their spatial reasoning
skills. Next week we will teach the
students to play a game with the toothpick patterns they created, forcing them
to manipulate these patterns in their minds and to think ahead about what
pattern might be used next.
We are sending home
completed assignments today. Your child
needs to select one assignment as their “proud paper” and complete the
reflection sheet about it. The proud
paper and reflection sheet should come back to school on Monday.
Reminders:
Wednesday,
September 30th – Fiction book
report due
Wednesday,
September 30th – Second tally
day
Wednesday,
October 7th – Individual
picture day (nice free dress)
Friday,
October 9th – Archdiocesan in-service, no school
September
11, 2009
Dear 3A Families,
Welcome to a new
school year! We’re off to a great
start. We spent much of our week getting
acquainted with routines, learning a new schedule and organizing our third
grade supplies. Students completed a reading survey so we can get to know their
unique reading style and preference, a spelling test and a math inventory. Students will get a chance to redo the
spelling test and math inventory at the end of the school year to see how much
they’ve improved.
In writing, students
began their journals by writing about their feelings and thoughts about third
grade so far. They wrote cinquains (five-line poems) about themselves as well, then illustrated their poem with a self-portrait.
We introduced our
Reading Challenge Wheel (kept in the reading section of the binder). This is meant to encourage the kids to read
literary genres they might not normally read.
We’ll check in on these from time to time to see if they are branching
out in their reading choices. The kids
were given their first book report form.
This can be found in the reading section of the binder (although some
kids opted to put it in the homework section).
The book report should be based upon a fiction book and is due September 30th. Each month the book report will be from a
different genre and may vary a bit in format. It will always be due the last
school day of the month, but may be turned in early – just be sure they’re
putting in their best effort and not rushing.
In math, the
students set up their math-fact binders.
These binders are meant to assist the students in learning their basic
math facts so that they can recite them with ease. We took a couple of timed tests and will
continue to use these in class before sending them home as part of the nightly
homework – we want to be sure the kids know how to use them correctly.
We began our first
religion lesson which focused on the theme of creation. The kids helped to read the creation story
and listened to the song “All Good Gifts” (from the “Godspell”
musical). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6-44IwcTWk We learned that humans were given the huge task
of caring for God’s creation and also learned the meaning of the word stewardship.
In order to understand the great responsibility God gave us, the
students worked together to create a class covenant with the promises they
wished to make to one another. They will
turn these into a class poster next week.
We introduced the
kids to our social studies and science curriculum this week and explained that
I teach social studies to both 3A and 3B, while Ms. Gonzales teaches science to
both classes. My kids learned the four
strands of social studies (geography, history, civics and economics) and I
believe Ms. Gonzales introduced the kids to the three Foss science kits they
will be using this year: Structures of
Life, Physics of Sound, and Earth Materials.
As we informed the
children, we will be doing a significant amount of learning with them as we
navigate a new grade level and curriculum.
We will be giving you an overview of our curriculum on Curriculum Night, Tuesday, September 15th
beginning at 7PM in the gym. We'll also talk about classroom procedures and
about ways to help your child succeed in third grade. This will be a time to
ask any general questions you have about the year. We have sent home a parent
survey to complete about your child.
This will give us a glimpse into the life of your third grader. If you
have not yet sent it in (the Walking Field Trip too), please send it in on
Monday, or bring it with you on Curriculum Night.
Classroom Helpers:
We welcome parents to come
into the classroom on a regular basis.
However, we will not invite parent help until October. This allows the kids to learn the new
routines, procedures, and atmosphere of the class on their own – an important
step towards greater independence, responsibility, and self-confidence in third
grade. The best message you can give
them is that they can do it on their
own and that you have every confidence in them. Your help is greatly
appreciated and needed, and we will be sending a monthly calendar home to
schedule volunteers for the classroom nearer October.
Wednesday Envelopes: This
continues to be a means of communication from the school. If at all possible, please review its
contents (**especially Scrip) on Wednesday evening and return it on
Thursday. If you have Thursday mornings
free, we welcome you to volunteer as our Wednesday envelope sorter. This job takes about 10 minutes each Thursday
and younger siblings are welcome to come along.
Friday Newsletters:
In an effort to practice
stewardship (and save money!), I will be sending the Friday newsletter via
email only. Please email Mr. Hastings if
you would like to add any other email addresses to the list (mom, dad, work,
etc.). If you do not have access to
email, please send a note requesting a hard copy of the newsletter. The newsletters will always be posted on the
3rd grade page of the ASB website as well ( http://www.asbschool.org/3anews.htm
).
As we start our journey, we
look forward to seeing you on Curriculum Night, September 15th. Please feel free to contact us with your
comments and questions. We are available to assist you in any way we can.
Chris Eusebio
524-7452 ext. 68
Mark Hastings
524-7452
ext. 96
September
8, 2009
Dear Families,
We had a great first day of school and are off to a
great start! The kids spent time
learning some of our procedures, sharing how they felt about the first day of
third grade, going on a “scavenger hunt” in the classroom, and doing a quick
fire drill. Our kids also got to go to
drama and library. What a day!
The following is an overview of some general
classroom procedures that you might be wondering about before Curriculum Night
on September 15th. I will go
over the curriculum and other procedures and policies for the year that
night. However, should you have
questions before that time, please feel free to email or call with questions.
Morning
Arrival: The
third grade entry doors (on the west side of the building) will be open
starting at 8:15 each morning. Students
may enter as soon as the doors open and need not wait until the bell rings at
8:30. They should put their materials in
their cubbies and head straight into the classroom to get an early start on
their morning work. As with the rest of
the school, any student arriving after 8:35 (when the doors are closed) must
report to the main office for a tardy slip before entering the classroom. Per school policy, students may not be dropped
off before 8:15, but should be
taken to Extended Care.
Snacks:
We have a short time for snack after
morning recess. No sweets are allowed. An extra 1/2 sandwich, fruit, veggie
sticks, or quick protein snack is encouraged. Not all students want or need
this. Please discuss this with your child. *We do not share snacks in third
grade due to allergy concerns.
Water
Bottles: Students may keep a water bottle at their table as
long as it is not a distraction to their learning. Please choose a water bottle
that has some type of “click” top to it.
Those with screw on/off lids tend to empty themselves completely when
tipped – all over the children’s work!
Please do not put ice in, or freeze the bottles, as they then “bleed”
onto the kids’ work.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned Monday through Thursday, and should take no
longer than 40 minutes to complete. The children will write their homework in
their assignment books, which will be sent home each day. We ask that you check
this notebook to ensure that your child has remembered to complete all
assignments. The assignment book also
provides a place where you may write a quick comment (e.g. change in pick-up
location, early departure, etc.) and will be checked each day. Of course, you
may also write more private notes and send them in a sealed envelope.
Each night students will have a homework sheet
related to something we are studying in class, in addition to a nightly routine
of reading for 20 minutes, and studying spelling words and math facts for 5
minutes each. Students will abbreviate the nightly routine in their assignment
books as follows:
RR
- Read 20 minutes and
record the book title
SS
- Study Spelling
MF
- Math Fact practice
Spelling study and math fact practice may be done
using flashcards, worksheets, computer games, writing them, etc. We will be sending home “math fact binders” at
the end of September to aid in math fact practice -- after the kids have had a
chance to learn how to use them properly.
Children must learn to be responsible, and it is
important to encourage your child to complete the assignments carefully and
completely. We work hard to teach
children to read the assignment description/instructions first (oftentimes out
loud) before asking for help. You may
want to do this too. Under circumstances
that you think are sufficient, please write us a note to let us know when your
child’s late homework will be completed.
Books: Children are responsible
for all school and library books. Books may not be taken from the building
unless they are in a book bag. Please return them promptly. Our library day is
on Tuesday. Students will also be
reading silently at school each day (D.E.A.R. time), and can read a book they
have chosen from school, home, or the library at this time.
Birthdays:
The students may have free dress on their birthday celebration day. Students
with summer birthdays will have a celebration day on their ½ birthday. Parents are also welcome to join us for
lunch on the birthday celebration day. *A reminder: if invitations are
passed out at school, either the whole class needs to be invited, or all the
girls/all the boys. Treats are welcome, but not required. If you choose to send a treat, please check with me
concerning allergies, and provide napkins as well. You may send the treat in
the morning or bring it at lunchtime (12:00).
Superstar:
Each student will have a school week dedicated to him or her. Each one will
make a display about him/herself to put on the bulletin board in our
classroom. Once during the week the
superstar may invite family members to join us at lunchtime (we eat from 12:15
until 12:40). I will send home a list of superstars in the first Wednesday
envelope.
Names: Please put names on all personal materials-
especially coats, sweatshirts and sweaters. School supplies will be shared as a
community, so you do not need to label these (pencils, markers, tissues, glue,
etc.).
Field
Trips: The walking permission slip covers any trips to
the park, city library, Ida Culver (our service project) or neighborhood. Please let me know if you did not receive
this form and I’ll send one home. Also, please return the driver
information form if you want to drive on any field trips this year (available
in the office or online). You may turn these forms in on Curriculum Night or
send them to school with your child.
Classroom
Helpers: We
welcome parents to come to the classroom on a regular basis. There will be
sign-ups at Curriculum Night for the times we need volunteers most. Your help
is greatly appreciated and needed, but we will wait until October to start
having volunteers in the classroom. This gives the students a chance to get to
know us and our classroom routines. We look forward to having you in the
classroom starting in October.
Big
Toy: Third grade may
have Big Toy at both morning and lunch recess, depending upon parent
availability. We will have a sign up
sheet for this on Curriculum Night.
Art
Parents: We
will again have this wonderful opportunity once each month to learn about a
variety of artists and artistic styles thanks to the help of our parents. The dates of our Art Parents activities will
be available on Curriculum Night so that you can sign up to help.
Thank you for all your support in getting us off to
a great start. Again, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
I look forward to seeing you on Curriculum Night September 15th!
Sincerely,
Chris Eusebio
206 524-7452 ext. 68