Hello and welcome to third grade at GSA! 

Thank you, again, for being amazing examples for your children. We are off to a great start! Some things we want to bring to your attention follow

The transition from 2nd to 3rd grade, when it comes to grades, can be very dramatic. Remember, we are now reading to learn versus learning to read. That being said, for 1st quarter, students do not receive a grade below 60 on any assignments. We use this quarter as a "transitional" time to get use to grade expectations. In the notes section, you will see the actual grade a student receives if their score is below 60. Second quarter, students will receive the actual grade they earn in the grade book. You have access to student progress at anytime in the ParentVue app. Contact Ms. Gloria if you need help with setting this up.

We do not offer "redo" assignments. As a grade level, we offer many opportunities for success. If a student does not receive mastery on a task (80% or higher), we have enough assignments to balance out and find a true representation of student's understanding of concepts. If a student misses a coursework assignment, we often do not have them make it up, due to time constraints.

As a team we have identified a need to return to some basic skills such as handwriting practice, silent reading time, and independent work expectations. Students will be responsible for a traditional spelling assessment as well. They will be responsible to know how to spell all 22 words, but they will only have to write 20. Currently, the expectation is in manuscript, but as the year progresses, we will require students to write in cursive.

When reviewing the  grade book, please note that assessment scores are weighted more heavily than coursework. If you notice a discrepancy in a grade, that is due to assessments being weighted at 60% and coursework weighted at 40%. Anytime you have questions about grades, feel free to reach out to any 3rd grade teacher via Remind (the Remind code is @3rdgsa) for clarification.

We have begun planning for our Zoo field trip!  We have scheduled our trip for March 6, 2026. More detailed information about transportation, chaperones, and needs, will be addressed closer to the date. Starting early in the year helps us reach out goal of raising enough funds to go. We are in need of roughly $6,500 which can easily be achieved through tax credit donation. We also will take any monetary donation to "Gator PTO." In the memo indicate this donation is for third grade field trips. We have 2-3 more field trips in town throughout the year that we will need support for as well.

• Dress Code Reminders: Please visit the Crane Schools Site to review the district dress code policy. Students who violate the dress code will receive two verbal reminders. Continuous violation of the dress code will result in your child being sent to the office to wait for you to bring an outfit change. Only solid-colored sweaters will be allowed in the classroom. Students who bring hats to school must refrain from using them indoors. 

• Gum is not allowed at Gowan Science Academy. Please remind your child to keep gum at home so we can keep our campus clean and beautiful.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Tuesday, September 9: 3rd Grade Grandparents/VIP Day from 10:15-11:00. Complete this form for all grandparents/VIP who plan on attending. Please arrive at 10:00 and bring legal photo identification.

• Wednesday, September 10: Decades Day - Dress in your favorite decade style

• Wednesday, September 10: School-Wide Artifact Museum - Sign Up Here

• Thusday, September 11: Patriot Day - Wear red, white, and/or blue

• Friday, September 12: Family Movie Night in the GSA Cafe @ 6:00 pm - How to Train Your Dragon

• Friday, September 19: September Birthday Celebration @ 2:40 pm

• Wednesday, September 24: Go Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness - $1.00 Non-Uniform Day for Hunter's Army

Reading: In this module, students will listen to, read, and view a variety of texts and media that present them with information about the importance of words and how they are used to express ideas and feelings. A genre focus on letters and poetry provides students with opportunities to identify elements of poetry and figurative language in order to better understand unfamiliar texts. Students will also encounter memoir and fantasy to build knowledge across genres. As students build vocabulary and synthesize topic knowledge, they will learn that words can take them on an adventure or teach them something new.

• Weekly Reading Assessment and Spelling Test: Wednesday, September 10

  • Spelling Words and Reading Concepts to be tested can be accessed here!

Writing: Students will be working on writing an opinion essay.

Math: Unit 2 - Area and Multiplication

Students encounter the concept of area as a measure of how much space a shape covers. They relate the areas of rectangles to multiplication and solve problems involving area. They see that area is additive when working with rectilinear shapes. This work includes determining the areas and unknown side lengths of figures composed of non-overlapping rectangles. 

• Caregiver Support can be found here!

• Family and Caregiver Website can be found here!

• End-of-Unit Assessment (subject to change): Tuesday, September 23

Science: In this unit, students explore weather and climate patterns. They make predictions about the weather through careful observations of the clouds, wind, temperature, and precipitation. Students also learn to differentiate between weather and climate and use models to reveal global climate patterns. They use this information to design solutions that reduce the impacts of severe weather events like windstorms.

Social Studies: Students will learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

• Clever: Once students log in to Clever, they will not need to use any additional passwords. If your child is not at grade level in Lexia or ST Math, at-home practice is crucial.

• Seesaw: Students will need to sign in to Google on the Google homepage using their school email address (111#@student.craneschools.org) and their capital letter password. Once in Seesaw, click "I'm a Student" and "Sign in with Google."