Parent Portal

Hello parents/guardians, 

This month in writing the students are working on persuasive texts. The students already seem to be excited about this unit. Each student will write a number of persuasive pieces trying to convince someone to agree with their point of view. I am excited to see what they come up with!

In math, we have started our unit on measurement and perimeter. We will be doing a lot of review work this month as well. The students will complete a school-based math assessment on April 7th. The students have an hour and a half to complete the assessment, and it is based only on what we have covered so far. We have been reviewing previously learned math concepts over the past couple of weeks. I will be telling students that this is a review check in, rather than an assessment to hopefully make it less stressful for them. The results of the assessment are only used to guide my teaching for the remainder of the year and help us to focus on the areas where we need more practice. It will be very important that students are in attendance for that day. If they miss the assessment we will have to find an alternate time for them to write it and that would mean that the student would be missing regular instruction time.

We will be completing our science unit on materials and structures in the next couple of weeks. Please send in your child's supplies for their tower project this week. I am hoping we will do our build day in the afternoon of April 7th. This will make a fun afternoon after completing their math assessment in the morning.

We have started to get some Spring like weather and with that comes a messy playground. Please be sure to send along splash pants and an extra change of clothes with your child. 

Dates to Remember:

• April 2 - science materials due

• April 2 - PJ day - fundraiser for Easter Seals

• April 3 - No School - Good Friday

• April 6 - No School- Easter Monday

• April 7 - Math Assessment

• April 10 - No School - PD day

• April 15 - Spring Photos - please send in a note or email me if you wish for your child to have their photo taken

Hello parents/guardians, 

 I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying some of the snow we have been getting throughout the month of January. I know that February is going to fly by!

Here are a few updates:

We are wrapping up our unit on addition and subtraction to 1000. The students have worked hard on this one and there are a lot of components and things they need to remember. We will be revisiting the concepts covered throughout the remainder of the year to make sure these learnings are solid. We are beginning our unit on multiplication and division this month. This is a fun unit and the students are always excited because it is something new. In Grade 3 we focus a lot on the understanding of what multiplication and division are and we use many strategies to solve the problems. Please note that the students will not be expected to memorize or have their facts on a quick recall. Instead they will work on demonstrating their understanding.

In writing we are learning about nonfiction text features and how to write a nonfiction text. We started this unit by writing “All About Me” nonfiction books and the students are presently researching an animal of their choosing and are creating slideshows with this information. This also leads to strengthening our ability to read nonfiction texts and use all of the text features to gain important information. 

I attached a class list to February's homework sheet. The students are invited to bring in valentines to pass out to their classmates on February 12th. I know that some valentines come with small treats such as suckers or smarties. If this is the case for your child, please make sure that the treat is nut and kiwi free in order to keep everyone safe. As we have students with other food sensitivities, the students will take these treats home and can enjoy them there.

Dates to Remember:

• February 13 - No School - PD day

• February 15 - No School - Islander day

• February 20 - Parent Teacher Conference Scheduler opens

• February 25 - Pink Shirt Day

• February 27 - Parent Teacher Conference Scheduler closes

Hello parents/guardians, 

 I hope everyone had a good holiday break!  We will spend some time this week reviewing expectations and getting back into our routines.

We are starting our non-fiction reading and writing unit. We will be reading and discussing many non-fiction books and their text features. Students will be writing their own non-fiction book about things they know a lot about. We will also choose animals to learn more about and write a book about our chosen animal.

In Fundations we have started Unit 5. Unit 5 focuses on the schwa sound.

In math we are reviewing 3 digit addition, then moving on to mental math strategies for 2 digit subtraction followed by 3 digit subtraction. We continue to work on skip counting and mental math strategies.

In health we continue to work on our unit on Relationship choices, focusing on being kind an respectful.

Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately each day. We head outside twice everyday for recess. Students should have warm jackets, hats, gloves and splash pants or snow pants everyday.

Dates to remember:

• January 27 – Dress Up As Your Favourite Literary Character (Family Literacy Day Jan 27th) 

Hello parents/guardians, 

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me during our Parent Teacher Conference time. It is hard to believe that we are already into December! It will be a busy month with lots of excitement!  Ms. Tala's last day with us will be December 15th. She has been a great addition to our class and we wish her the best as she continues with her Education program.

This month we will be wrapping up our Science Unit on Invisible forces. The students have enjoyed the hands-on experimenting with the magnets! In the new year we will move into our unit on Materials and Structures.

In writing, we have been working on a punctuation unit. The students have been given more choice in their topics/genres of writing but we are really focusing on proper use of punctuation. Our next unit will be nonfiction.

In math, we are working on adding 3-digit numbers. It would be beneficial for students to work on addition and subtraction to 20 for a couple of minutes in the evenings. This way the students can focus more on the process of solving the problem instead of the computation. The students should have these facts on a 3 second recall by the end of Grade 3.

The new homework sheet for this month was sent home. I know that this month is busy for many families, please just try your best and do what you can. If you have to skip some evenings, that is okay!

Every year I do a countdown to the winter break. I have created a calendar with the activities that we will be doing each day. The students have been working so hard and they will be putting in a lot of effort with all of the concert practices, that they definitely deserve a little fun! I will be providing hot chocolate and marshmallows on December 15th. Please let me know if your child is unable to have this treat. 

I often do a holiday movie on the last day before the break. We usually watch The Polar Express. We read the book and then compare the two. I also provide a treat of chips (please let me know if your child is unable to have this treat). If you have objections to this please let me know and we will do an alternate activity on the last day. 

Dates to Remember:

Dec. 8th - Report Cards go home

Dec. 15th - Hot chocolate provided

Dec. 17th - Holiday Concert (1pm and 7pm)

Dec. 19th - PJ Day by donation for the Water Walk

Hello parents/guardians, 

It's hard to believe that we're into November already!  With the weather getting colder, please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately each day. We head outside twice everyday for recess. Students should have jackets, boots, and splash pants for rainy days. Warm jackets, hats, gloves and splash pants or snow pants for colder days.

Parent-teacher conference scheduler will open on November 7th. The link will be posted on our school website. You will have until November 14th to book your conference time. Parent-teacher conferences will be in the afternoon/evening of November 20th, and during the day on November 21st.  Please note that as part of Ms. Tala`s learning as a practice teacher, she will be attending Parent-teacher conferences. This will be a great opportunity for you to meet her. Her final day with our class will be Dec. 15th. If you would prefer that she not sit in on your conference please let me know as soon as possible. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress.

This month in writing we will be wrapping up our small moment writing unit. Students have been working hard to tell their stories bit by bit using a storytellers voice.  

We have completed Unit 1 in Fundations and have been working on Unit 2.  This unit is focusing on suffixes. 

In math we have been working on skip counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s.  We have been skip counting forwards and backwards up to 1000.   We have started working on mental math strategies such as doubles, doubles +1 and doubles +2 as well as making 10. We have also worked on addition and subtraction with missing numerals. We will continue working on these strategies, as we move on to rounding, estimating, and mental math strategies for adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers.

In health we have been continuing to work on our Relationship Choices unit, discussing being a good friend, being kind and respectful. We will be continuing this unit this month. 

Dates to remember:

• November 6 and 7 - No School - PD days

• November 7 - Parent-teacher conference scheduler opens

• November 10 - No School - PD day

• November 11 - No School - Remembrance Day

• November 14 - Parent-teacher conference scheduler closes

• November 20 - Parent-teacher conferences afternoon/evening

• November 21 - No School - Parent-teacher conferences daytime

• December 17 - Holiday Concert 1:00pm and 7:00pm (storm date December 18)  

Hello Parents/Guradians,

We have had a great first month of school! Students have settled in well to our grade 3 routines. During the last week of October we are going to be doing some mini pumpkin painting. We are still looking for 5 more mini pumpkins if anyone is able to donate some to our class we would appreciate it. Anyone who has offered to donate mini pumpkins, please send them in on October 27, thank you!

In writing we have been working on writing about a small moment and telling it bit by bit using a storyteller's voice. A small moment is a tiny bit of time that has actually happened to students. It may be helpful if you have some discussion in the evening with your child about some moments they could write about. It is always great to help generate ideas! Students are welcome to bring in a list of small moments if you happen to do that together at home. We will continue this style of writing in October.

We have completed our Fundations orientation unit and have started Unit 1. This unit is working various syllable types.  We have also started to learn cursive writing as part of our Fundations program.

In math we have been working on our Number Sense Unit, representing numbers to 1000 in a variety of ways. We have also been working on comparing numbers to 1000 and ordering numbers from greatest to least and from least to greatest. We will continue working on these skills as we move onto practicing skip counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 10s, 25s, and 100s. Later this month we will start working on mental math strategies and addition and subtraction with missing numerals.

In health we have been working on our Relationship Choices unit, discussing being a good friend, being kind and respectful. We will be continuing this unit this month. 

This month we will also be doing some Thanksgiving and Halloween activities.

Dates to remember:

October 10 - No School - PD Day

October 13 - No School - Thanksgiving

October 31 - Wear black and orange (no costumes please)

Hello parents/guardians, 

     Welcome to 3H! My name is Amanda Coulson. I am so excited to be your child’s Grade 3 teacher.  I am delighted to welcome your family to a new school year at Westwood Primary. I look forward to working closely with all of you to watch your child grow and learn and to ensure your child’s success in grade 3. We are going to have an awesome year in 3H. 

     The first couple of weeks will be spent largely around establishing our classroom routines, getting to know each other and having as much fun as possible learning new things and creating memories. 

     Our classroom is in YELLOW hollow. Grade 3 & grade 2 have morning recess time (10:15-10:30) and after lunch recess time (12:25-12:45). Lunch for the whole school is from 12:00- 12:20pm. 

     I look forward to meeting everybody at Meet the Teacher on September 10th. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime by email at alcoulson@edu.pe.ca or call the school at 902-368-6855. I check my email every morning when I arrive at school, but I may not get to it again until after school. Anything that is time sensitive, such as a change in after school plan, please call the school

Please check out 3H’s Classroom Google Site where you will find lots of information throughout the year. I will post a newsletter at the beginning of every month to let you know what will be happening in our class that month. You can find the link on the Westwood School site.

https://sites.google.com/cloud.edu.pe.ca/ms-amandas-3h-class/home

Thank-you for supporting your child’s learning,

Ms. Amanda