SJS Grade Three

Mrs. Julie Maher

The Mission of St. Joseph School is to educate students spiritually and academically to use their minds well.

Welcome to the SJS Grade Three Website

Dear Parents and Students,

I am Mrs. Julie Maher, and I will be your teacher for this year. It is a joy to be returning to St. Joseph School and Grade Three. I enjoyed the grade three curriculum last year and the students by all accounts learned a great deal and even had fun while they learned, as did I. The key to learning is engagement.

Here is a little about me. My husband Michael, and I are the proud parents of three sons and nine grandchildren ages two years to eighteen who all live locally. That makes it convenient to see them all quite a bit. My youngest granddaughter will be a third grader at her school this year; we are both excited about the new year.

I am a veteran teacher, having spent most of my teaching life at St. Charles in Woburn. However, I am no stranger to St. Joseph School . Over the years I have substitute taught in various grades and was an aid for an academic year in grade 4. Last year I came back to St. Joseph to cover Mrs. Ellis' leave of absence. I have been in Catholic School all of my life--even college and grad school. I received my Masters from Emmanuel College in elementary education. I love to learn, and I love to teach. I love projects and we will do quite a few this year.

Thank you so much for checking out the website. I have given brief overviews of the subjects and some projects for the coming year. Please click in the upper right hand corner for a dropdown menu for pictures and information.

May God bless you and keep you all.

Mrs. Maher

My email: jmaher@stjosephschoolwakefield.org

Religion

From the parents page of "Blest Are We" Grade Three.

"In Grade 3, your children will learn more about the Four Marks of the Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. They will also learn about the Church’s mission in the world. "

Other topics: the Rosary , prayers, guided meditations, the Saints and The Mass. It will be my goal to integrate our Faith into our daily lives, not just during religion.

Reading and Phonics

We use the Reading Street Series. Third grade is the end of learning to read and the beginning of reading to learn. Students will read a variety of text and build upon what they have learned in first and second grades. Oral reading is important and students will have the opportunity to read orally in all subject areas. Most importantly, I would like all students to become readers, who love to read!

Writing ,Spelling and Grammar

Students will begin writing by creating journals. They decorate the cover, and fill out their 'heart map.' In this journal, they will find their voice in narrative essays by writing about the things that are important to them. My favorite part of writing will be these journals! Persuasive essays, expository essays, descriptive essays and poetry will add to their repertoire.

Spelling and Grammar workbooks will be used in class and for homework.

Science

In science some topics we will study are flight, weather, magnets, and plants. I love science and I hope the students will, as well. We will make paper air planes, and magnet mazes, and we will root our own plants and study weather making a barometer, anemometer and a rain gauge. STEM projects will keep them thinking and rethinking!

Social Studies

We will start off learning about communities and government. Students will research their city or town and create a presentation. In the second half of the year, we study Massachusetts, it's history and importance to the beginnings of the United States of America. We study Native Americans, and create a Wampanoag Village and we plant "the Three sisters."

Math

A dear friend and fellow teacher always says, you only need to know the four operations in order to do math. Students have already learned addition and subtraction. This year they add to the complexity of these two and dive into multiplication and division. Because these are foundational skills, it is imperative that students learn their multiplication facts. this will require study at home and help from parents. Every year going forward in math will be built on these skills. Learning their times tables will be critical to their math success.

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