Temperance Elementary School s2

Temperance Elementary School Third Grade Mrs. Stinnett [email protected] 946-2811 August 19, 2016

Dear Parents, Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and you’re ready for a great school year. I look forward to working with you and your child this year. It’s hard to believe the summer is over but it’s always exciting to begin a new school year! There will be a newsletter in your child’s “Friday Folder” every Friday. The Friday Folder will also contain graded work, information from the office, menus, etc. Please sign and return the folder on Monday morning so that we know you received your child’s work and other information. Your child will receive a “100 point sheet” on Monday that is due each Friday morning. This will go along with their weekly word study or spelling words that they receive on Monday morning as well. Their “100 point sheet” will show the activities to complete in order to reach their 100 point goal each week. They will have nine activities to choose from each week. Some examples are: write your words in abc order, sort your words, create a word search, etc. We used practice words this first week to get the students familiarized with our weekly word study routine here in the classroom. They did not have a 100 point sheet this first week of school. I administered a spelling assessment this first week to determine the needs of each student. New words and the first “100 point” sheet will go home on Monday. Everyone is doing a great job with their agendas! Students will use the agenda to write down homework and record their 20 minutes of required reading each night. If you have any questions, concerns, or notes, please write them in your child’s agenda. I will see it first thing in the morning and be able to respond. I will also write notes in the agenda if needed  . Please keep in mind that if your child is absent, you will need to send in a written note when they return. Make up work will be available on the day they are absent at 4:00pm from the office. If you would like to receive the newsletter or communicate through email, please return the page attached to this newsletter. The accelerated math and accelerated reading programs will be used this year! Your child has an accelerated math folder here at school. They have practice pages to complete and a scan card to fill out. They scan their card and the computer generates more practice based on your child’s needs. I will go over any mistakes that they made. Once we get rolling, I will allow the students to bring their folders home to work on. Please encourage them to read and then take AR tests here at school. They will earn points and be able to spend their AR points in the AR store! We will also be using a program called xtramath. This program helps students develop math fact fluency. It begins with addition facts and then moves on to subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. We will work here at school but your child will also be able to work at home! A flyer will be coming home with specific directions and an enrollment code for your child. This week we have been establishing our daily routine and have completed some of the beginning of the year assessments. Students practiced our weekly word study routines using practice words. On Monday, students go over the definitions of their words, cut, sort, write, and read their words. On Tuesday, students complete a speed sort. On Wednesday, students will either complete a word hunt to find words that fit their word family patterns or complete an activity we call tracking in a page from the newspaper. On Thursday, students complete a “buddy pre-test” and on Friday, students will sort, write, read, glue their words in their word study book, and take their test. We reviewed complete sentences during our English block this week. We are currently learning about the different types of sentences. During our whole group reading block, students are learning about folk tales. The first type of folk tale discussed was fairy tales. Students are learning the characteristics of fairy tales. We are also learning to preview, predict, and confirm our predictions. Our first math SOL will be 3.1. Students will be learning to identify and read 6 digit numbers. We will be working on place value, rounding, and comparing numbers. Our first Science unit will be covering SOL 3.2. Students will be learning about six simple machines. Key terms include: simple machines, force, word, push, pull, wedge, pulley, wheel and axle, lever, screw, inclined plane, newtons, spring scale, and compound machines. We will also incorporate SOL 3.1 as we complete experiments and activities with each simple machine. Please be on the lookout for simple machines around your house such as the screw on light bulbs, toothpaste, and peanut butter jars. Our first Social Studies unit will cover 3.5a,b,e. We are currently reviewing the location of the 7 continents and 5 oceans. We will be learning about the equator, prime meridian, identifying important locations, and using a grid map. We will then move on to learning about Greece and Rome! Please begin collecting 6 paper towel tubes and 1 shoe box for your child. We will need them to build the Parthenon! Details will be coming home soon!

Dates to Remember: August 19th- Virginia Diner and Yankee Candle fundraiser kickoff! August 23rd- TES Back to School Night @6:00 August 26th- Scholastic Book order is due September 3rd- Will’s birthday! September 5th- Labor Day- ACPS closed September 6th- Fundraiser orders and money are due September 15th- interims go home September 20th- Parent/Teacher conferences

Thanks for all you do, Carla Fitzgerald Stinnett Third Grade Parent Email Information student name parent name (first and email address last)