October 19, 2015
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!
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 23rd.
Geography Quiz: Students have a geography quiz next Wednesday, October 28th. A study guide came home with them last week.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Students have been reciting The Prayer to the Holy Spirit. This prayer will need to be memorized by Monday, November 2nd. 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.
Social Studies Homework: Immigration Homework-In social studies we are studying immigration. Coming home on Thursday with your child is a short assignment about his/her family. They will need your help on this assignment because it asks about a family member that has immigrated to the United States. Thanks for your help! This is due on Thursday, October 29th.
Halloween Party: The party will be Friday, October 30th at 2:00pm. Students may dress in orange and black. Please, no costumes.
Curriculum:
Language Arts: We review parts of speech and make “Monster Mad-Libs.” We also continue to work on our opinion essay.
Religion: We study the different types of prayer and students write their own prayers.
Science: Students work on the log they are keeping to analyze their data and decision making process through this project. Your child will share his log with you at conferences!
Math: We will use a lot of our math time this week for testing. We continue to work on subtraction with regrouping and subtracting across zeros.
Reading: We read chapter 6 and 7 in the Boxcar Children. We also use some of our reading time for IOWA testing.
Spelling: There will be no spelling this week due to IOWA testing.
Star this week: Aiden
Next Week: Ethan
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Erin Meland