As there is limited space in our classroom for classroom materials I have have collected most of the supplies and will be distributing them as they are needed. However, students should have their own water bottle and a pair of sneakers that they don’t wear outside to use for their PE shoes. They are welcome to bring in their own pair of headphones, but they aren't required.
Throughout the school year there may be other supplies and/or field trips for which students may need to bring in some money. On such occasions I will be sure to give families plenty of advance notice and an inability to pay will never be a reason for a student not to be able to participate. I may also on occasion send home a classroom wish list if we get to a point where we need certain materials and will always greatly appreciate any family donations of these items.
Communication between home and school is critical for the success of all students. Please feel welcome at any point in the year to make an appointment to come in and discuss areas of concerns or ask questions you may have about your child at school. Though you can reach me via email and by phone, the easiest and most effective way to get in contact with me right away is through Class Dojo, an online resource for communication, tracking behavior, and giving children daily positive reinforcement through points for their hard work at school. Information about how to sign up for a free Class Dojo account and connect to our class will come home along with this letter.
We will be doing recess before lunch this year. Our recess will take place from 11:10-11:45 each day. It will be followed by lunch from 11:45-12:10. We will have Art/Health on Mondays, PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Library on Wednesdays, and Music on Fridays.
Throughout the year, students will be expected to be responsible for their own behavior, to treat others with respect, to do their best, and to help create and maintain a safe and positive learning environment with minimal distraction where all students can have the opportunity to be successful. I will be utilizing Class Dojo, an online communication resource to communicate with parents and to record and track both positive and negative student behaviors. If you haven’t already done so, I highly encourage you to download the free Class Dojo app for your smart phone and to sign up for a free Class Dojo account, since it is a great resource for keeping you in the loop about your student’s behavior, things going on in class, and school-wide activities. You can also access your Dojo account online, but parents seems to get the most benefit from Class Dojo when they access it via the app. More information about signing up for Class Dojo is attached to this letter.
As a teacher, I have high expectations for behavior and effort, but I am also very happy to reward students for their work when it comes to these two areas. Throughout the year, students will have the opportunity to earn pirate points for attendance, positive behavior, completing work, academic growth, and academic performance. These pirate points will count towards each student’s pirate rank. At the end of the school year, we will have a pirate auction where students will be able to bid on prizes using the pirate points they have earned. Over the last few years, my students have responded very favorably to this system, and it has been quite effective at encouraging self-responsibility.
The reading curriculum we will be utilizing this year is called CKLA. This is our 2nd year using this curriculum, so many of the students had experience with it last year. Of course, this year will be focused on new skills and themes, but there should also be many similarities.
For math instruction, we will continue utilizing Ready Math. One important thing to keep in mind for you at home is that students will be learning and practicing some strategies which are designed to build their understanding of place value as much as their understanding of operations. This means that even though some of these strategies may seem a bit confusing or cumbersome compared to the traditional strategies we all know and love, they do have a purpose in preparing students for higher level math reasoning. Rest assured that the students will be learning the more traditional strategies as they move on. I will send home additional info about our math curriculum and what we will be learning this year in future newsletters.
I assign independent work on Mondays or Tuesdays that will almost always be due at the end of the week. Though this work is not considered to be homework, I do have students keep it in their Home Folder in order to keep it separate from their classwork and also to give them the opportunity to work on it at home and to get help from family members when needed. As students will have time in class each day to work on their independent work, I do expect them to make sure their home folder containing their independent work comes back to school every day.
Initially independent work will consist of a math review packet and a reading passage with comprehension questions. Students are encouraged to read the weekly reading passages to an adult at home. Though this part is not required, they will have the opportunity to earn a pirate point for each day they read to an adult and the adult initials their page. Of course I definitely encourage independent reading at home as well, but at this age nothing quite compares to the benefit of students reading out loud to someone older. Additionally, beginning in a few weeks, students will regularly be bringing home a list of spelling words that they are encouraged to practice. The date of the test will be listed on each list. Along with the spelling list students will also get some spelling work as well as a handwriting page. As with the other work, these items will be due at the end of each week.
Students need to come to school prepared for the weather as they will be expected to go outside for recess every day unless the conditions are extreme or unsafe.
In 3rd grade, students are graded on academic achievement as well as effort in each subject area. Academic/Effort grades will be determined by daily class work, quizzes, tests, and projects. Behavior grades are based on records kept by Mr. Cano on Class Dojo. The grading scale for 3rd grade is as follows:
90-100 is an O
80-89 is an S+
70-79 is an S
60-69 is an S-
59 or below is an N
The Anchorage School District uses a web-based tool called Q to record student grades and attendance records. You will be given a password to access your child’s current grades (the password and login are available in the office) via Q Parent Connection or the Q Mobile app. Assignments & grades will generally be updated on a weekly basis. If you have any questions regarding your child’s grades, and don’t see what you’re looking for on Q, please contact me at any time.