October 17, 2016
Dear Third Grade Parents,
Mid Trimester Reports: Mid-Trimester reports will be coming home on Friday, October 23rd. These reflect the progress that your child is making this year. I just wanted to clarify the grading system. 4, 3, 2, 1 do not equate to A, B, C, or D. Please look at the descriptors. The 4 means exceeding standards, so they are going above and beyond what is expected. They must add more components than requested. Students will not be receiving 4’s at this point in the year. A “4” means the student is going above and beyond expectations. This early in the year it is not appropriate to give a “4” in most subject areas as we have not had the opportunity to delve deep enough into the content to warrant this exceptional score. Your child may be doing excellent work, and they may receive a 3. A 3 indicates that they are meeting the standard for their grade level, and they are doing quality work. A report card with mostly 3’s is something to be proud of! A 2 means that your child is working towards the standard. Your child may be working their hardest, but more growth is needed in order to meet the standard. It also indicates that progress is being shown. On the other hand your child may receive a 2 because they are not trying their hardest. A 1 indicates that your child is below the standard and needs more assistance and practice in order to meet the standard.
IOWA Testing: The third grade will be taking the IOWA tests this week. It is important for the students to be at school to take the tests. Here are some helpful tips to discuss with your child:
* Plan ahead for a peaceful, unhurried evening and morning before the test.
* Make sure your child sleeps well, eats a healthy breakfast, brings a healthy snack, and gets enough water to drink.
* Be on time for school. We take the IOWA tests first thing each morning so be at school by the first bell (8:15) so that students have time to settle in before we begin.
* Give an honest effort; take pride in yourself and DO YOUR BEST.
* Never leave an answer blank!
Dine Out for HRS: Dine out this Wednesday, October 19th at Shelby’s Bistro (Junction) and 10% of proceeds will be donated to HRS.
Lunches of Love: 3rd grade will be donating Lunches of Love in the month of October. Our second turn in day is this Friday, October 21st.
Old Magazines Needed– by Wednesday
This week we will be learning about nouns, adjectives and verbs. We will be doing an activity where kids need to cut out pictures from magazines. If you have any magazines lying around the house that you no longer need, I would love use them. Magazines like Good Housekeeping work great. Thanks!
Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Students have been reciting The Prayer to the Holy Spirit. This prayer will need to be memorized by Friday, November 4th. Your child can also recite the prayer to me before this date, if they are ready. They can recite the prayer to me before school, after school or at recess.
Curriculum:
Language Arts: We study nouns, adjectives and verbs. They also create “Monster Mad-Libs” using parts of speech. These silly stories will be on display in the halls for the next few weeks.
Religion: Student study and illustrate the Angel of God Prayer.
Science: Students build baby monsters based on inherited traits of parent monsters.
Social Studies: We continue to work on our geography lapbooks.
Math: Students solve multi-step word problems and check for reasonable answers.
Reading: We finish chapter 4 and 5 in the Boxcar Children.
Spelling: There will be no spelling this week due to IOWA testing.
Star this week: Elena
Next Week: Macy
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Erin Meland