Dear parents,

We hope you have enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend! Last week though short, was packed with excitement.  We finished our I-Ready testing and got to start a little work on our personalized learning path, we helped to raise $500 as a school for our Elizabethian newspaper, and we got to meet our Little Buddies for the first time in the ECC on Friday.  It was a full week and so much fun to share all this joy together!

This week also looks to be exciting!  We will celebrate National Teddy Bear Day on Tuesday and invite students to bring their favorite teddy bear or stuffy to read with during Silent Reading time.  Children's Choir also starts this week!  A flyer will go home on Monday will all of the dates and times.  The first practice is this Wednesday from 7:15-7:45am.  All 2nd-4th grade students are invited to participate.

Finally, please be sure to check your child's Friday folder. This week we sent home our first Scholastic Book Order form.  You are welcome to add your book order through Friday, 9/12.  We also sent home a field trip permission form.  This is an opportunity that Mr. Riley has coordinated for our grade to share mass, fellowship (with a free lunch!), and then work on a technology project alongside Rockhurst University students.  The theme for our time at Rockhurst will be: Seasons of Creation. We look forward to this opportunity!  

This week in 3rd grade...

Math: This week we will learn strategies to efficiently add and subtract 3 digit numbers.  On Tuesday we will start the week learning to "decompose" or break apart numbers to add the hundreds, tens, and ones separately and then write the answer as a combined sum.  While this strategy may be very different from the standard method of carrying that we learned in school, the idea is to try to teach students a couple different ways to add.  Then, after being introduced to different strategies, students can choose the strategy that makes the most sense to them.  If you have any questions about the math homework this week, please feel free to reach out!

Reading and Writing: This week we will work on creating story maps and understanding the story elements in Amos and Boris By: William Steig.  This fictional text about the friendship between a mouse and a whale carries an important message, however, there are several challenging vocabulary words.  Students will work this week to improve their reading fluency by participating in a class Reader's Theatre as well as completing Fluency homework.  **Please make time this week to listen to your child read the passage at least 3x each night and sign the checklist.

Spelling: This week we will begin our differentiated spelling groups.  Students will place their spelling lists in the sheet protector on Monday.  Test on Friday.

Social Studies: We will learn about Missouri's landforms.  Then we will create a topographical map of Missouri using clay.  This will be a fun, hands-on way to better understand our state's features!

Religion: This week we will learn about the faith of Abraham.  We will read from the Bible, do some art, and even sing a fun song about "Father Abraham".

Friendzy: This week we will jump into the first lesson of our social emotional curriculum, Friendzy.  Our first unit is all about the theme: Better Together. We will be using the Bible verse "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend" (Proverbs 27:17) to guide our activities and reflection.  

Important things to note:

-Tuesday: National Teddy Bear Day!  In order to have a little fun this week, students may bring a teddy bear or favorite stuffed animal to read with during Silent Reading time (Tuesday only, please).

-Wednesday: Dress uniform, Children's choir 7:15-7:45am

Looking Ahead:

-September 19: No School-Teacher Professional Development

-September 19-20: Smoking N Waldo!

-September 22: Trash bag orders due, Field trip to Rockhurst University (11:45-2:45pm)

-September 25: Vision Screening

-October 8: Picture Day, Mrs. Droege's class leads Mass

Have a great week! 

Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Droege

gwalsh@stekcschool.org           cdroege@stekcschool.org   

3rd Grade Website: https://sites.google.com/stekcschool.org/3rdgrade/home

Dear Parents,

Happy Labor Day! We hope that you have enjoyed relaxing as a family! 

Thank you so much for coming to Back to School Night last week.  The students were so excited to read the notes from you in their desks and we appreciated having a chance to be together to discuss your child's learning in 3rd grade. We have attached a link to the presentation in the Newsletter tab of our 3rd grade Website if you would like to reference it at any time.

When you have a chance, we would love your "parent homework"-your children were so excited about the idea that we were also giving you homework :)  Whether it is easiest to send an e-mail or write us a note and send it in your child's backpack, we welcome any information you can share with us about your child, their learning experience so far, and your hopes for the year.  We are a team and the more information we have, the easier it is for us to support your child.  We realize that this is a crazy time of year, so thank you for your time in completing this.  We truly appreciate it!!

This week in 3rd grade...

Math: This week we will explore our new math books and learn how to round numbers to the nearest 10 and 100. Rounding tends to be a tricky skill for 3rd graders, so any support that you can offer with homework would be greatly appreciated!!  On Tuesday students homework will be a rounding game to play with an adult.  We hope this is a fun introduction to the skill.

Reading and Writing: On Tuesday and Wednesday we will take the I-Ready Diagnostic Test for Reading.  Like the math test last week, this is an adaptive test taken on the computer. Then we get to begin our first module of our reading curriculum, Wit and Wisdom by thinking about how poets and artists help us to explore the ocean.  We will be reading the poem The Sea Wind by Sara Teasdale and observing the painting Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai.  

Grammar:  We will continue to work on our sentence editing skills and have some fun with creative writing.

Spelling: This week we are studying words with long vowel sounds.   Students already have the words in their Take Home Folder and will copy their words into their planner on Tuesday.  Test on Friday.  (We will begin our differentiated spelling lists next week)

Social Studies: We will continue our study of the geography of Missouri.  This week we will learn about the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.  We will also map out the 5 regions of Missouri.  Be sure to ask your child what region we live in!

Religion: This week we will continue to learn about the parts of the Bible and how it is organized.  We will have some fun playing a Bible version of Chutes and Ladders with a partner.  We will also discuss how God has called each of us by name.  Talking with your child about why you chose that name for them would be a great connection to our class discussions.

Social Emotional Learning: This week we will continue to develop our growth mindset habits by reading the book The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes By: Gary Rubenstein and playing a game to practice ways to respond in frustrating situations.

Important things to note:

-Wednesday: Dress uniform. Mrs. Walsh's class will help to shelve food in our Parish Food Pantry. We will bring the parish donations as well as any food we can bring in as a class.  Thank you so much for your generosity!!! 

-Friday: Fundraiser for our school newspaper!!  Bring in any amount of donation to support the increased cost of our school newspaper and you can wear Spirit Wear or your favorite Chief's shirt. Popcorn for FIRE at dismissal. Today we also get to meet our Little Buddies for the 1st time!!

Looking Ahead:

-September 7: Farewell to Ms. Susie after the 10am mass

-September 19: No School-Teacher Professional Development

-September 19-20: Smoking N Waldo!

-September 25: Vision Screening

Have a great week! 

Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Droege

gwalsh@stekcschool.org           cdroege@stekcschool.org    

3rd Grade Website: https://sites.google.com/stekcschool.org/3rdgrade/home

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for your support in making our 1st week in 3rd grade a wonderful start to our year together.  Students were so eager to be together again and we managed to learn the routine of 3rd grade while squeezing in time for some fun teamwork challenges too. It was so great to see student's joy as they worked together to save Fred, pass a hula hoop, and build cup pyramids!   

This week in 3rd grade...

Math: This week we will review math facts and place value.  Students will begin working on a computer program called Reflex to gain more confidence on their math facts.  It is a game based program, so we think it will help to motivate students to keep practicing those facts!  On Wednesday we will have some fun by using what we know about place value to solve an Escape Room! On Thursday and Friday we will take the I-Ready Beginning of the Year Math Diagnostic Test.  Students will work to answer questions on the computer for about 30 minutes both days.  The data we receive from this testing will allow us to better meet student learning needs. Students will have 1 page of math homework each night.  Your support to help them check over their work is greatly appreciated!

Reading and Writing: This week we will summarize, discuss, write about, and act out scenes from Patricia Polacco's book Thank You, Mr. Falker.  On Friday we will wonder and think about Pablo Picasso's painting Reading at a Table. Students reading homework will be to read each night for 20 minutes.

Grammar: We will review what a noun is and work to identify nouns in sentences.  Quiz on Friday.

Spelling: This week we will begin our spelling routine.  In 3rd grade students will be tested over 15 words.  Students will copy their words into their planner on Monday and also place a list of spelling words inside the sheet protector in the middle of their Take Home Folder. Test on Friday. This week we are studying words with short vowel sounds.    (For the first 2 weeks, we will all study the same words.  We will begin our differentiated spelling lists after this-we will explain this more at Back to School night!)  We will give students time to complete their spelling homework in class, however, please help students to study their list to be sure they are prepared for our first test on Friday.

Social Studies: This week we will begin our study of geography. We will review the parts of a map and even have a chance to draw our own maps of our favorite places!

Religion: This week we will review ways that we learn about God and begin to explore the Bibles in our classrooms.

Social Emotional Growth: This week we will work on developing growth mindset.  We will read the book, Bubblegum Brain By: Julia Cook and discuss how having a "bubblegum brain" (a growth mindset)  instead of a "brick brain" (a fixed mindset) allows us to use our mistakes to learn and find new solutions.

Important things to note:

-Wednesday:

• Dress uniform

• Mrs. Droege's class volunteers at the STE food pantry. Please bring a reusable shopping bag as well as any food you wish to donate.  The food pantry could really use our help as many of it's shelves are empty.

• Back to School Night at 6pm in the Church.  After Mr. Riley's presentation in Seton Hall we will meet in our 3rd grade classroom to discuss 3rd grade routines and have a chance to answer any questions you may have.  We hope to see you there!

Looking Ahead:

-September 1: No School-Labor Day!

-September 5: Spirit Day with donation to help pay for our school newspaper, Popcorn for FIRE at dismissal

Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Droege

gwalsh@stekcschool.org           cdroege@stekcschool.org    

Dear parents,

Thank you so much for coming to Open House last week! It was great to meet all of you and get our classroom set for a new year of learning.  I am really looking forward to a great year of learning!

Each week I will send out a newsletter over the weekend to let you know what exciting things are planned for the week and anything that your child may need for our learning.  If you ever have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me and ask.  We are a team, working together to ensure your child grows and flourishes this year! 

Looking ahead at this week in 3rd grade....

Monday, August 18: Last day of summer--enjoy!!

Tuesday, August 19th

Happy 1st Day of School!  We will enjoy a half day together.  Dismissal is at 12pm.  Please be sure your child brings a backpack with: a water bottle, a snack, and their favorite book.  If your child has not yet purchased their large pencil bag, you can send $6 cash or purchase it from Mrs. Hossle in the front office.  This size of pencil bag allows us to keep crayons and markers safe inside it and is the same size used in grades 4-8 so you can reuse it from year to year.

Wednesday, August 20th

Mass Day!  **Please dress in mass uniform.** All our welcome to join us in prayer!  

Thursday, August 21st

Normal uniform and schedule

Friday, August 22nd

Legacy Hat Day!   Popsicles for FIRE distributed at dismissal (Free for students with FIRE Pass or donations to FIRE accepted)

*No homework this week except to try to get back into the routine of reading each night.  

**Students may bring a snack in their backpacks each day if they would like.  I find that students are often hungry by our 2nd recess at 2:15pm so students who wish to eat a snack can bring it with them to recess.  This is completely optional-some students don't like to waste any play time :)

Looking Ahead:

-August 27th: 6-8pm Back to School Night for Parents of all grades (meet in church, then we will meet in our classroom)

-September 1: No School, Labor Day 

Happy 1st Week of School!

Cara Droege and Gretchen Walsh