August 15, 2025
August 15, 2025
Welcome to Third Grade!
Hello Families, and welcome to Third Grade for our 2025-2026 school year!
Please take a moment to visit and read this newsletter weekly, as it contains important information about our class, as well as upcoming events at Westlake. Thank you for your collaboration and support. I am looking forward to our school year together!
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, August 27th- Back to School Night
Monday, September 1st- Labor Day- No School
Tuesday, September 2nd- Fall Picture Day
Classroom News
School Dismissal Manager: If you have not already done so, please update your child's School Dismissal Manager with how they will be going home this year. It is super important that I know where each student is going at the end of the day for safety purposes. If you have any difficulty logging in or accessing your account, please email talexander@westlakecharter.com for assistance.
Our Star Student : Each student will have an opportunity to be our Star Student during the school year. You will receive the poster with the directions the week before your child is the Star Student. I will model what this looks like and students will begin in a few weeks!
Social Emotional Learning Focus
We spent the first three days of school getting to know our new classmates, new classroom space, and establishing our Community Agreements.. This week, we began brainstorming our hopes and dreams for the 3rd-grade school year.
Next week, we will focus on what collaboration looks like, sounds like, and feels like as we continue to launch the school year in our Getting to Know You unit.
ELA (reading, writing, grammar)
This week, we learned all about each other! Together, we brainstormed what we know about third grade and what questions we have about third grade.
Next week, we will begin discussions on what it means to be a writer, what writers write about, and topics that are close to their hearts that they may want to write about. We will practice narrative writing as our first style of writing.
CLICK HERE for resources to practice writing at home and a rubric of what a third-grade writer’s narrative story should include.
Students will be decorating the front of their writer’s notebooks. Please see the notice that was sent home or CLICK HERE for more details about what they can bring in to decorate.
Science
This week, we completed several STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) challenges as we continue to work on building our teamwork, collaboration, and classroom community.
Math
Next week, we will begin our first unit in our math curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics: Introducing Multiplication.
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 1
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 1
Parent Info Sheet- Operations and Algebraic Thinking standards
Westlake News
K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 27th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction-free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare.
Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, session two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.
6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, session two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.
Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th-grade classes only.
Free and Reduced Price Meals: Families, each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District, and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. Physical copies of the 2025-26 application will be available at Meet the Teacher. Please complete this form for every student in your family and return it to either front office. While meals remain free for all students this school year, this is important data for our Charter authorization.
CLICK HERE to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) acknowledgement form, which will allow us to ensure everyone has received this information. Even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced priced meals, please complete the form for our tracking purposes.
CLICK HERE to complete the FRPM application online.
After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment: Our fall Explorer Enrichment starts soon! CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.
Learning Lab: The Learning Lab will open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM beginning Monday, August 18th. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework. Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.
JIBE Bike Doctor: Bike Doc is North Natomas Jibe's free basic bike repair and tune up service. This basic repair service is offered at no cost to our community. Students and families of Westlake Charter School are invited to register to bring in bicycles on September 5th from 3:15 – 6:15 PM. CLICK HERE to book a spot or show up day-of for service first come, first served. (Families can register up to 4 bikes for individual appointments.) Note that not all issues are fixable by Bike Doc in the repair window. These issues can be referred to a bike shop for in-depth service.
Specialty Classes: 8/13/2025: Weekly Focus
Art - Ascheman
Welcome Artists! Next week we will be learning about the expectations in the art room and discover a tool we will use to create artwork!
PE - Ms T
Greetings Movers! Next week we will be getting to know one another, establishing class expectations in the gym, and building positive sportsmanlike attitudes with cooperative games.
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Buenos dias, explorers! This week we will be learning about the expectations and procedures to succeed in the Spanish classroom. We will know how to use the new classroom materials, and the different ways to have fun while learning.
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, August 27th- Back to School Night
Monday, September 1st- Labor Day- No School
Tuesday, September 2nd- K-8 Fall Picture Day- Uniform
Tuesday, September 2nd- NWEA Map Testing: Math
Thursday, September 4th- NWEA Map Testing: Reading
Classroom News
School Dismissal Manager: If you have not already done so, please update your child's School Dismissal Manager with how they will be going home this year. It is super important that I know where each student is going at the end of the day for safety purposes. If you have any difficulty logging in or accessing your account, please email talexander@westlakecharter.com for assistance.
Our Star Student. : Each student will have an opportunity to be our Star Student during the school year. You will receive the poster with the directions the week before your child is the Star Student. I will model what this looks like and students will begin in a few weeks!
ELA (writing, reading, grammar)
This week in reading, we worked towards having sustained reading stamina. To build students up for success, we discussed what it looks like to pick a good-fit book.
The 30 Book Challenge was introduced and students are very excited! This year in third grade, I challenge students to read 30 books or more! Students may read any good fit book that interests them. Encourage your child to explore various genres while they complete this challenge. These books can be read at home or at school. The goal is to create a love for reading that lasts a lifetime. Students will be tracking progress in their Reading Log that will stay at school. Each time they finish a book, they will add it to their list.
This week, we also spent time brainstorming ideas for future writing in our notebooks. Students made collages on the inside cover of their notebooks that they can reference throughout the school year for topic ideas..
Our first writing focus will be personal narratives. Students will write true stories that they have experienced.
Study guides for writing were sent home in Friday Folders this week. CLICK HERE for a digital copy of the study guide. This will be assessed at the end of the trimester but a process that we are learning and practicing all trimester.
We have also begun our phonics instruction from our Fundations curriculum. This week we reviewed procedures and routines. We focused on closed syllables and the trigraph tch.
CLICK HERE for a video of Unit 1 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 1 along with home activity sheets. A hard copy of this can also be found in Friday Folders.
Math
This week, we began Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication, Section A: Interpret and Represent Data on Scaled Graphs, from our Illustrative Math curriculum. This week, we have been learning new routines and procedures as we build our Mathematical Community. Students have been collecting and analyzing data to create scaled graphs.
The daily cool-downs will be sent home weekly in Friday Folders. This is a quick way to check in with your student and see how they are doing on the learning in class.
Next week, we will continue to create and understand scaled graphs as we begin to make a connection between scaled graphs and multiplication.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 1
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 1
Parent Info Sheet- Operations and Algebraic Thinking standards
Social Emotional Learning
This week, we continued to learn more about having a growth mindset. We discussed the idea that learning never stops and that even when things get challenging, we should not give up.
As a class, we learned about the various types of discussions that we will participate in during the school year. A discussion can be teacher-led, in a group, or with a partner.
Assessment Information
Speaking and Listening Benchmark
Given the week of August 25th:
This will be reported on the Trimester 1 Progress Report
NWEA MAP Testing
Tuesday, September 2nd- Math Test
Thursday, Thursday 4th- Reading Test
Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication Benchmark
This will be given the week of September 15th.
Click Here for the study guide. A hard copy was also sent home in Friday Folders today.
Westlake News
K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is NEXT Wednesday, August 27th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare.
Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, session two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.
6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, session two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.
Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only.
Free and Reduced Price Meals: Families, each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. Physical copies of the 2025-26 application were sent home at Meet the Teacher. Please complete this form for every student in your family and return it to either front office. While meals remain free for all students this school year, this is important data for our Charter authorization.
CLICK HERE to complete the Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) acknowledgement form which will allow us to ensure everyone has received this information. Even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced priced meals, please complete the form for our tracking purposes.
CLICK HERE to complete the FRPM application online.
After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment: Our fall Explorer Enrichment starts soon! CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.
Learning Lab: The Learning Lab is open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework. Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.
Jibe Bike Doctor: Bike Doc is North Natomas Jibe's free basic bike repair and tune up service. This basic repair service is offered at no cost to our community. Students and families of Westlake Charter School are invited to register to bring in bicycles on September 5th from 3:15 – 6:15 PM. CLICK HERE to book a spot or show up day-of for service first come, first served. (Families can register up to 4 bikes for individual appointments.) Note that not all issues are fixable by Bike Doc in the repair window. These issues can be referred to a bike shop for in-depth service.
Specialties
8/18/2025
Weekly Focus
Art - Ascheman
Third grade artists will begin working on their artist portfolios where they will keep their artwork for the year. They will be introduced to pencils and erasers to draw their name in a bubble letter style.
PE - Ms T
Greetings Movers! Next week we will be continuing group and collaborative play with cooperative ganes to help build a positive learning PE environbment.
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Buenos dias, explorers! This week we will keep reinforcing our classroom. We will know how to use the new classroom materials, and the different ways to have fun while learning.
August 29th, 2025
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, September 1st- Labor Day- No School
Tuesday, September 2nd- K-8 Fall Picture Day- Uniform
Tuesday, September 2nd- NWEA Map Testing: Math
Thursday, September 4th- NWEA Map Testing: Reading
Week of September 15th- Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication Math Benchmark
Classroom News
Back to School Night Follow-Up: Thank you for attending Back to School Night. If you were unable to attend or would like to access the slides, please Click HERE. .
No Toys/Equipment From Home: Please remind students that they are not allowed to bring toys or sports equipment from home. This is a school-wide policy. Thank you for your support with this!
School Dismissal Manager: We appreciate your efforts to keep Dismissal Manager updated with your child’s dismissal instructions. This ensures that everyone gets where they need to go quickly and safely. Please note, we cannot allow students to leave campus without a parent or sibling pickup noted on the School Dismissal Manager.
Our Star Student: Each student will have an opportunity to be our Star Student during the school year. You will receive the poster with the directions the week before your child is the Star Student. I will model what this looks like, and students will begin in a few weeks!
ELA (writing, reading, grammar)
In writing, we are hard at work on our first personal narrative writing piece. This week, students practiced including transition words and adding more details to their stories . The writing process can be messy with a lot of edits and revisions.
Next week, in writing, we will publish our writing. We will set goals for how we want to grow as writers and review the 3rd-grade narrative rubric.
This week, we wrapped up our Getting to Know You unit. As we launched the school year, we have read many books about community, collaboration, and friendships.
Next week, we will begin our Fables, Myths, and Folktales unit. We will be focusing on retelling stories as well as asking and answering questions about a text.
Click HERE for the third-grade standards (RL3.1 - 3.3)
At-home Resources:
Click HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
This week in phonics, we focused on closed syllable exceptions and glued sounds.
Next week we will begin Unit 2, where students will learn about 1-1-1 words.
Click HERE for a video of Unit 2 Home Support Overview.
Click HERE for a video of Home Support Additional Tips
Click HERE for a letter describing Unit 2, along with home activity sheets. A printed copy can be found in Friday Folders.
Math
This week, we wrapped up Unit 1: Section A from our Illustrative Math curriculum. We continued to create and understand scaled graphs as we began to make connections between scaled graphs and multiplication.
Next week in Section B, students will make sense of multiplication in terms of equal groups of objects.
Cool downs and Checkpoints will be sent home weekly in Friday Folders. This is a quick way to check in with your student and see how they are doing on the weekly lessons.
Click HERE for the third-grade standards.
At-home Resources:
Click HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 1
Click HERE for family support materials for Unit 1
Parent Info Sheet- Operations and Algebraic Thinking standards
I have also sent home optional practice problems for this unit in Friday Folders. Additional practice is encouraged.
Social Emotional Learning
This week, we continued to learn more about having a growth mindset. We discussed the idea that learning never stops and that even when things get challenging, we should not give up.
Next week, we will launch into our first Core Value of the school year: Respect.
Assessment Information
Speaking and Listening Benchmark was given this week
This will be reported on the Trimester 1 Progress Report
NWEA MAP Testing
Tuesday, September 2nd- Math Test
Thursday, Thursday 4th- Reading Test
Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication Benchmark
This will be given the week of September 15th.
Click Here for the study guide. A hard copy was also sent home in Friday Folders last week.
Westlake News
Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day is NEXT Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package.
CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only.
School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations: Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 20% of our School Supplies donation goal and 8% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers!
CLICK HERE to make your donation today!
After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment: Some of our fall Explorer Enrichment classes have begun and others start soon - most classes still have space, so CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.
Traffic/Parking Reminders: Please be respectful and mindful during our arrival and dismissal process, following traffic rules is an essential part of maintaining a safe environment for children. This includes parking in designated areas, adhering to the instructions of school staff, and obeying traffic laws. Traffic rules help to ensure that students are not in harm’s way when they are entering and exiting vehicles. When drivers obey traffic laws, they are less likely to be in an accident or cause a disruption in the flow of traffic. Additionally, traffic laws help to reduce congestion and provide a safe environment for pedestrians.
Jibe Bike Doctor: Bike Doc is North Natomas Jibe's free basic bike repair and tune up service. This basic repair service is offered at no cost to our community. Students and families of Westlake Charter School are invited to register to bring in bicycles on September 5th from 3:15 – 6:15 PM. CLICK HERE to book a spot or show up day-of for service first come, first served. (Families can register up to 4 bikes for individual appointments.) Note that not all issues are fixable by Bike Doc in the repair window. These issues can be referred to a bike shop for in-depth service.
Specialties
Week of
8/25/2025
Weekly Focus
Art - Ascheman
Third grade artists will begin working on their artist portfolios where they will keep their artwork for the year. They will be introduced to pencils and erasers to draw their name in a bubble letter style.
PE - Morales
Greetings Movers! Next week we will be continuing group and collaborative play with cooperative games to help build a positive learning PE environment.
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Buenos dias, explorers! This week we will continue reinforcing our classroom expectations and procedures. We will practice using different areas of the classroom with a new color and number coded system. We will work on a collaboration activity, and discover the different ways to have fun while learning.
September 5, 2024
Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, September 2nd-Thursday, September 11th- Fall NWEA MAP Testing
Week of September 15th- Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication Math Benchmark
Friday, September 19th- Student Spirit Day: Sports Day
Friday, September 26th- Progress Reports go home
Friday, September 26th- Olympic Triathlon
Week of September 29th- Folktales Benchmark
English Language Arts (writing, reading, grammar)
This week, we started our new unit on Folktales: Fairytales, Fables, and Myths. We discussed the differences between fairytales, fables, and myths. We also created a world map and outlined different stories from all parts of the world.
Click HERE for the third-grade standards (RL3.1 - 3.3)
At-home Resources:
Click HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
Next week, students will read the Folktale, Stone Soup, and practice answering questions about the text.
This week in writing, we set goals for how we want to grow as writers and took a look at the 3rd grade narrative rubric!
Next week in writing, we will learn about dialogue and how to include it in our personal narratives.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
This week in phonics, we started Unit 2. This unit focuses on vowel suffixes and consonant suffixes.
CLICK HERE for a video of Unit 2 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 2 along with home activity sheets.
Next week in phonics, we will learn how to identify and mark up 1-1-1 words.
Math
This week in Section B, students made sense of multiplication in terms of equal groups of objects.
Next week in math, students will finish Section B and begin Section C of Unit 1. In this section, students will represent multiplication with arrays and the commutative property.
Click HERE for the third-grade standards.
At-home Resources:
Click HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 1
Click HERE for family support materials for Unit 1
Parent Info Sheet- Operations and Algebraic Thinking standards
If you would like to do extra practice problems with your child from Section B, please use this resource HERE.
Formative Assessments (daily cooldowns and end-of-section checkpoints) will be sent home in Friday Folders. This is an additional opportunity to check in with your student and see how they are doing with their learning.
Core Value of the Month: Respect
Class News
Our Star Student : Each student will have an opportunity to be our Star Student during the school year. You will receive the poster with the directions the Friday before your child is the Star Student. You will find the schedule on the home page.
School Library: We will visit the Westlake Library every Monday afternoon with Mrs. Polonco. Please support your child in making sure to return their library book each week in order to borrow a new one! Next week we will have our first visit.
No Toys/Equipment From Home: Please remind your student that they are not allowed to bring toys or sports equipment from home. This is a school-wide policy. Thank you for your support with this!
School Dismissal Manager: We appreciate your efforts to keep Dismissal Manager updated with your child’s dismissal instructions. This ensures that everyone gets where they need to go quickly and safely. Please note, we cannot allow students to leave campus without a parent or sibling pickup noted on School Dismissal Manager.
Assessment Information
Unit 1 Math benchmark- Our Math benchmark Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication will be given the week of September 15th. A study guide was sent home in Friday folders last week. To access it digitally, CLICK HERE.
ELA benchmark- Our ELA benchmark focusing on Folktales will be given the week of September 29th. Study guides were sent home in Friday folders last week.. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE.
NWEA Testing- NWEA Reading and Math assessments took place this week. More time or makeups will be given next week as needed.
WCS News
School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations:
Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 24% of our School Supplies donation goal and 11% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers! CLICK HERE to make your donation today!
After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment:
Some of our fall Explorer Enrichment classes have begun and others start soon - most classes still have space, so CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.
Classroom Volunteering 101:
We've launched Classroom Volunteering 101 to give every family the tools and confidence to step into the classroom and make a difference! Our next training sessions are as follows:
In Person: Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00 PM on our K-8 Campus
Online: September 24th at 9:00 AM via video conference - CLICK HERE for the Zoom link
If you aren't able to make it to either, or would prefer to complete this training independently, please CLICK HERE to take our training online whenever it works for you.
Once you've completed Classroom Volunteering 101 either online or in a group, you’ll complete a short form that will let our staff recognize you as a trained classroom volunteer. You can then reach out to your teacher to schedule a time to volunteer in the classroom. When you arrive on campus to volunteer, please check in at the front desk with your photo ID.
CLICK HERE to express interest in volunteering at an upcoming event
We appreciate you and are looking forward to hosting you on campus soon!
Specialty Info
Art - Ascheman
Next week 3rd grade artists will begin to practice watercolor painting. We will look at the artwork of Helen Dardik who is an illustrator and painter, as well as Carolyn Gavin. We will take inspiration from these artists to draw an animal of our choice and use watercolor techniques over our drawings.
PE - Ms T
Greetings Movers! I will be gone this week from Tuesday-Friday. My sub will have the students play Goal Ball which they have played with me before. It incorporates the following skills: hand-eye coordination, using hands as a striking implement to hit a small foam ball, blocking skills, and most importantly positive sportsmanship.
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Buenos dias, Explorers! This week we will continue with our Morning Slides routine, where we practice days of the week, emotions, and spelling. We will focus on speaking.
September 12th, 2025
Upcoming Dates:
Week of September 15th- Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication Math Benchmark
Friday, September 19th- Student Spirit Day: Sports Day
Friday, September 26th- Progress Reports go home
Friday, September 26th- Olympic Triathlon
Week of September 29th- Folktales Benchmark
English Language Arts (writing, reading, grammar, phonics)
This week in reading, students read the Myth, “How Night Came” and the Folktale, Stone Soup. We discussed how to ask questions: before, during, and after reading. Students also filled out a story map where they retold what happened in the beginning, middle, and the end of the story.
Next week, students will begin expert groups where they will become an “expert” on a fable, myth, or legend.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards (RL3.1 - 3.3)
Writing
In writing, we published our first narrative writing piece. Throughout the last couple of weeks, students completed a full writing cycle including brainstorm, rough draft, edit and revise, and publish. Students are proud of their accomplishments!
Next week in writing, students will begin writing on a new personal narrative topic. We will work on narrowing our story to a “small seed” specific story and adding more details.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
Phonics
This week in phonics, we learned how to identify and mark up 1-1-1 words.
Next week in phonics, we will continue to focus on 1-1-1 words. A 1-1-1 word has one syllable, one vowel, and one final consonant. When a vowel suffix is added to a 1-1-1 word, the last letter of the word, a consonant, is doubled.
CLICK HERE for a video of Unit 2 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 2 along with home activity sheets.
Math
This week, we completed Unit 1: Section B From Graphs to Multiplication. Students learned more about repeated addition and how it connects to multiplication. We practiced solving multiplication expressions by using diagrams and drawings. We have begun Section C: Represent and Solve Multiplication Problems Involving Arrays.
If you would like to do extra practice problems with your child from Section B please use this resource HERE.
Our Math benchmark Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication will be given the week of September 15th. Please check your child’s Friday Folder for a hard copy of the study guide. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE.
Next week in math, we will complete Unit 1: Introduction to Multiplication by representing and solving multiplication problems involving arrays.
We will then take our Unit 1 Math assessment. These results will be reflected on their Trimester 1 Report Cards.
Formative Assessments (daily cooldowns and end-of-section checkpoints) will be sent home in Friday Folders. This is an additional opportunity to check in with your student and see how they are doing with their learning.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 1
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 1
Parent Info Sheet- Operations and Algebraic Thinking standards
Use online resources like Imagine Math, Imagine Math Facts, and Xtra Math using your child’s school email account on Clever.
Core Value of the Month: Respect
Class News
Maidu Historic Site Field Trip: We are heading to The Maidu Historic Site on October 20th (Sanchez, Lin, and Walker) and October 27th (Jones and Root).
A field trip form has been sent home in your child’s Friday Folder. If you need another copy please CLICK HERE. Please fill out the form and return it by Friday, October 3rd or as soon as possible!
If you are interested in being a chaperone, CLICK HERE! I will reach out to parents directly to confirm positions as we have a limited number allowed. I intend to allow all interested chaperones to join us for at least one trip this school year. The cost as a chaperone is $14.
School Library: We will visit the Westlake Library every Tuesday afternoon with Mrs. Polonco. Please support your child in making sure to return their library book each week in order to borrow a new one! Next week we will have our first visit.
No Toys/Equipment From Home: Please remind your student that they are not allowed to bring toys or sports equipment from home. This is a school-wide policy. Thank you for your support with this!
School Dismissal Manager: We appreciate your efforts to keep Dismissal Manager updated with your child’s dismissal instructions. This ensures that everyone gets where they need to go quickly and safely. Please note, we cannot allow students to leave campus without a parent or sibling pickup noted on School Dismissal Manager.
Assessment Information
Unit 1 Math benchmark- Our Math benchmark Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication will be given the week of September 15th. Please check your child’s Friday Folder for a hard copy of the study guide. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE.
ELA benchmark- Our ELA benchmark focusing on Folktales will be given the week of September 29th. Please check your child’s Friday Folder for a hard copy of the study guide. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE
Skills Assessments- Students are currently being assessed on sight words and phonics skills. These scores will be reflected in Trimester 1 Progress Reports. These assessments will take place several times throughout the school year.
WCS News
School Supplies and Field Lesson Donations:
Great news, Explorer families! Westlake Charter School has already reached 26% of our School Supplies donation goal and 12% of our Field Lesson donation goal. Keep up the great work, Explorers! CLICK HERE to make your donation today!
Olympic Triathlon:
We’re aiming for 100% student participation as we come together to support Westlake’s incredible programs. The Olympic Triathlon event is right around the corner on Friday, September 26th. CLICK HERE to watch our Olympic Triathlon Kickoff video.
CLICK HERE to set up a family donation page on the Pledgestar website. You can customize it with your student’s name, a photo, and a donation goal. It is easy to quickly request sponsors via email or text, explaining why Westlake is amazing and how they can help us meet our goal this year.
Prize Levels - Prizes starting on September 9th
25% Participation – Chips & Drinks for the class!
50% Participation – Popsicle Party time!
75% Participation – Donut Party celebration!
100% Participation – Pizza Party for the win!
$100 Goal Challenge – Prizes & Rewards!
Every student who raises $100 or more will be celebrated with:
Guaranteed Prize – A special Olympic Triathlon medal
Raffle Entry – For every $100 a student raises they’re entered into a raffle for AMAZING prizes:
Top Prize for K-8: eScooter
Top Prize for HS: Apple AirPods 4
Additional prizes: Pair of Disneyland tickets, $25 Gift Cards (Amazon, In-N-Out, Jamba Juice, and more!)
The more students who hit the $100 goal, the bigger the celebration for our school community!
Classroom Volunteering 101:
We've launched Classroom Volunteering 101 to give every family the tools and confidence to step into the classroom and make a difference! Our next training sessions are as follows:
In Person: Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00 PM on our K-8 Campus
Online: September 24th at 9:00 AM via video conference -E-mail wavewcs@gmail.com to obtain the Zoom link
If you aren't able to make it to either, or would prefer to complete this training independently, please CLICK HERE to take our training online whenever it works for you.
Once you've completed Classroom Volunteering 101 either online or in a group, you’ll complete a short form that will let our staff recognize you as a trained classroom volunteer. You can then reach out to your teacher to schedule a time to volunteer in the classroom. When you arrive on campus to volunteer, please check in at the front desk with your photo ID.
CLICK HERE to express interest in volunteering at an upcoming event
We appreciate you and are looking forward to hosting you on campus soon!
Specialty Info:
Art - Ascheman
Next week 3rd grade artists will chose a simple animal to draw and then add watercolor or marker plants and flowers to the background or top of the anmial's head as a decoration. I look forward to seeing these creatures come to life with floral designs!
PE - Ms T
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Hola, familia. This week we will be talking about the fall colors and the activities we do in our favorite season.
September 19th, 2025
Upcoming Dates:
Friday, September 26th- Progress Reports go home
Friday, September 26th- Olympic Triathlon
Week of September 29th- Folktales Benchmark
Thursday, October 2nd- Picture Retake Day
Monday, October 6th- 10th- Fall Break: No School
Monday, October 20th- Maidu Museum Field Lesson (Lin, Sanchez, Walker)
Wednesday, October 27th- Maidu Museum Field Lesson (Jones, Root)
ELA (writing, reading, grammar, phonics)
This week during reading, students began expert groups. We will be reading stories such as: The Hare and the Tortoise, How Kangaroo Got Her Pouch, and Anansi and the Turtle. Students are meeting in small groups to learn and teach each other about these folktales.
Next week, students will continue to learn more about folktales through our expert groups.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards (RL3.1 - 3.3)
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
This week in phonics, we continued identifying 1-1-1 words. A 1-1-1 word is a word that is 1 syllable, has 1 vowel, and 1 consonant after the vowel. When you add a vowel suffix to a 1-1-1 word, the last consonant is doubled.
Next week, we will begin Unit 3. A letter and practice worksheets were sent home in Friday Folders today.
CLICK HERE for a video of Unit 2 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 2 along with home activity sheets.
In writing, we are continuing our work on narrative writing. This week we began a new topic and completed a rough draft.
CLICK HERE for third grade writing rubric.
Math
This week, we completed Unit 1: Introduction to Multiplication by representing and solving multiplication problems involving arrays.
This week we took our Unit 1 Math assessment. These results will be reflected on their Trimester 1 Report Cards. Unit 1 Math books will be sent home as we are all finished with them. Feel free to recycle or use as an additional resource.
Next week, we will begin Unit 2: Relate Area to Multiplication.
Formative Assessments (daily cooldowns and end-of-section checkpoints) will be sent home in Friday Folders. This is an additional opportunity to check in with your student and see how they are doing with their learning.
CLICK HERE for the third-grade standards.
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 2
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 2
Parent Info Sheet - Area & Perimeter
Use online resources including Imagine Math, Imagine Math Facts, and Xtra Math using your child’s school email account on Clever.
Assessment Information
Unit 1 Math Benchmark: This week we took our Math assessment Unit 1: Introduction to Multiplication. A report showing their score can be found in their Friday Folder next week. These results will be reflected on their Trimester 1 Report Cards. If they did not master a specific standard, reteaching and retake opportunities will be given.
ELA Folktales Benchmark- Our ELA benchmark focusing on Folktales will be given the week of September 29th. Please check your child’s Friday Folder for a hard copy of the study guide. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE.
Skills Assessments- For the past couple of weeks, students were assessed on sight words and phonics skills. These scores will be reflected in Trimester 1 Progress Reports. These assessments will take place several times throughout the school year and be updated on Progress Reports and Report Cards.
Class News
Maidu Historic Site Field Trip: We are heading to The Maidu Historic Site on October 20th (Sanchez, Lin, and Walker) and October 27th (Jones and Root).
A field trip form has been sent home in your child’s Friday Folder. If you need another copy please CLICK HERE. Please fill out the form and return it by Friday, October 3rd or as soon as possible!
If you are interested in being a chaperone, CLICK HERE! I will reach out to parents directly to confirm positions as we have a limited number allowed. I intend to allow all interested chaperones to join us for at least one trip this school year. The cost as a chaperone is $14.
School Library: We will visit the Westlake Library every Tuesday afternoon with Mrs. Polonco. Please support your child in making sure to return their library book each week in order to borrow a new one! Next week we will have our first visit.
No Toys/Equipment From Home: Please remind your student that they are not allowed to bring toys or sports equipment from home. This is a school-wide policy. Thank you for your support with this!
School Dismissal Manager: We appreciate your efforts to keep Dismissal Manager updated with your child’s dismissal instructions. This ensures that everyone gets where they need to go quickly and safely. Please note, we cannot allow students to leave campus without a parent or sibling pickup noted on School Dismissal Manager.
Core Value of the Month: Respect
WCS News
Strategic Plan Family Survey:
Families, help us Shape our Future! Please CLICK HERE to watch a quick video of Dr. Eick discussing the Strategic Plan Family Survey.
Then, CLICK HERE to take the 7-10 minute survey. The grade level with the highest family participation will receive a donut party on October 3rd.
Olympic Triathlon:
Westlake families have raised over $18,000 already to support Westlake’s incredible programs. The Olympic Triathlon event is right around the corner on Friday, September 26th.
CLICK HERE to watch our Olympic Triathlon Kickoff video
CLICK HERE for a flyer with all the details
CLICK HERE to set up a family donation page on the Pledgestar website
CLICK HERE to volunteer on Olympic Triathlon Field Event Day!
Lunchtime Reminders:
To help our day run smoothly and ensure all students have a safe and timely lunch, we kindly ask that you do not send food items that require cooking, heating, or preparation by staff. This includes items that need to be microwaved or otherwise heated.
Please send lunches that are ready to eat and do not require staff assistance. We appreciate your support in helping us keep lunchtime efficient and safe for everyone!
K-8 Picture Retake Day:
Our Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 2nd. See below for who should have their picture taken on October 2nd:
Students who are new to our school since the original picture day
Students that were absent on the original picture day
Students who would like to retake their photo
CLICK HERE to order pictures
Specialty Info
Art - Ascheman
Third grade artists will finish up their animal and floral paintings. At the end of class we will preview the next project about color, form and value.
PE - Ms T
Greetings Movers! This week we will continue our throwing & catching unit with practicing throwing at a moving target and catching various implements at various levels (high, medium, and low).
*Will be testing for overhand throwing form with accuracy the week of September 29
Spanish - Santos Toledo
Hola, familia. This week we will continue our routine of exposing the students to the Spanish language. To do so, we do Total Physical response, choral response, songs, dance, and more. We practice the use of the Spanish language in context.
Friday, September 26th- Progress Reports go home
Friday, September 26th- Olympic Triathlon
Week of September 29th- Folktales Benchmark
Thursday, October 2nd- Picture Retake Day
Monday, October 6th- 10th- Fall Break: No School
Monday, October 20th- Maidu Museum Field Lesson (Lin, Sanchez, Walker)
ELA (writing, reading, grammar, phonics)
This week in reading, students became an expert on a folktale and taught their teams. Students focused on the characters, setting, plot, and the lesson or moral.
Next week, students will review what we have learned during this unit and take our Folktale benchmark assessment.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards (RL3.1 - 3.3)
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a list of 300 writing prompts you could use at home!
This week in writing, students worked to edit and publish a final draft!
Next week, we will continue the writing process as we work on personal narrative writing. Our writing process includes brainstorm, rough draft, edit, revise, and publish.
CLICK HERE for a digital copy of the study guide. This will be assessed at the end of the trimester.
CLICK HERE for third grade writing rubric.
This week in phonics we talked about vowel- consonant- e syllables.
Next week we will be learning about the exception to the vowel-consonant- e syllable.
At-home Phonics Support Resources:
CLICK HERE for a Video of Unit 3 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a Video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 3 along with home activity sheets.
For additional practice, use these resources!
Math
This week we began Unit 2: Section A. Students practiced using square tiles to find the area of rectangles.
Next week students will learn that the area of rectangles can be determined by multiplying the side lengths.
Check your child’s Friday Folder for their daily cool downs to see how they are doing with this new learning.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 2
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 2
Parent Info Sheet - Area & Perimeter
Assessment Information
ELA Folktales Benchmark- Our ELA benchmark focusing on Folktales will be given the week of September 29th. Please check your child’s Friday Folder for a hard copy of the study guide. You can also access the study guide digitally HERE.
ELA Narrative Writing Benchmark- Our narrative writing benchmark will be given in November. Study guides were sent home in Friday Folders. To access the study guide digitally, CLICK HERE.
Class News
Maidu Historic Site Field Trip: We are heading to The Maidu Historic Site on October 20th (Sanchez, Lin, and Walker) and October 27th (Floarea and Root).
A field trip form has been sent home in your child’s Friday Folder. If you need another copy please CLICK HERE. Please fill out the form and return it by Friday, October 3rd or as soon as possible.
School Library: We will visit the Westlake Library every Tuesday afternoon with Mrs. Polonco. Please support your child in making sure to return their library book each week in order to borrow a new one! Next week we will have our first visit.
No Toys/Equipment From Home: Please remind your student that they are not allowed to bring toys or sports equipment from home. This is a school-wide policy. Thank you for your support with this!
School Dismissal Manager: We appreciate your efforts to keep Dismissal Manager updated with your child’s dismissal instructions. This ensures that everyone gets where they need to go quickly and safely. Please note, we cannot allow students to leave campus without a parent or sibling pickup noted on School Dismissal Manager.
Core Value of the Month: Respect
WCS News:
Strategic Plan Family Survey:
Families, help us Shape our Future! Please CLICK HERE to watch a quick video of Dr. Eick discussing the Strategic Plan Family Survey. Then, CLICK HERE to take the 7-10 minute survey. The grade level with the highest family participation will receive a donut party on October 3rd.
K-12 Picture Retake Day:
Our Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 2nd. See below for who should have their picture taken on October 2nd:
Students who are new to our school since the original picture day
Students that were absent on the original picture day
Students who would like to retake their photo
CLICK HERE to order pictures
Middle School After School Live Athletics - Volunteer Opportunity for K-12 Guardians:
We are excited to be relaunching our Middle School ASLive Athletics program, which is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. We are looking for VOLUNTEER COACHES to make this possible. Teams will meet twice a week throughout the season for practices and games. Practices and games last from 3:15 – 4:15 PM every day except Wednesdays. CLICK HERE to complete the Volunteer Coach interest form to let us know if you are interested in finding out more about coaching flag football, basketball, or volleyball!
October 3rd, 2025
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, October 6th- 10th- Fall Break: No School
Monday, October 20th- Maidu Museum Field Lesson (Lin, Sanchez, Walker)
Week of October 20th- Unit 2 Math Assessment
Saturday, October 25th- Fall Festival
November- Narrative Writing Assessment
ELA (writing, reading, grammar, phonics)
This week in reading, students took their Folktale Benchmark assessment. These results will be reflected on their Trimester 1 Report Cards.
After the Fall Break, we will jump into our new unit, Native Americans and Early Settlers. We will spend time learning about the Maidu and Miwok Native Americans from our region.
CLICK HERE for the third-grade standards (RI 3.1 - 3.9).
CLICK HERE for resources for 3.1
CLICK HERE for resources for 3.9
After break we will go on our field trip to the Maidu Museum. We will focus in on the Maidu and Miwok tribes that lived in this region long ago.
In writing, students worked on adding a conclusion and publishing their writing stories.
When we return from break, we will continue to practice our writing skills. Narrative writing assessment will be given in November.
CLICK HERE for third grade writing rubric.
CLICK HERE for a 3rd grade writing sample.
CLICK HERE for a writing study guide.
This week in phonics students reviewed and practiced reading two-syllable words and v-e syllables.
When we return from break, we will continue to practice these skills in Unit 4 of our Fundations curriculum.
At-home Phonics Support Resources:
CLICK HERE for a Video of Unit 4 Home Support Overview.
CLICK HERE for a Video of Home Support Additional Tips
CLICK HERE for a letter describing Unit 4 along with home activity sheets.
Math
This week students learned that the area of rectangles can be determined by multiplying the side lengths. We discussed using different types of measurement to find area of rectangles including square centimeters, square inches, square feet, and square meters.
After break, students will be finding the area of composite shapes made of rectangles.
Check your child’s Friday Folder for their daily cool downs to see how they are doing with this new learning.
CLICK HERE for the third grade standards.
At-home Resources:
CLICK HERE for a family support video for the launch of Unit 2
CLICK HERE for family support materials for Unit 2
Parent Info Sheet - Area & Perimeter
Assessment Information
Narrative Writing Assessment- will be given in November. To prepare for this assessment, give your child a prompt like: Write about a time you were excited.
CLICK HERE for third grade writing rubric.
CLICK HERE for a 3rd grade writing sample.
CLICK HERE for a writing study guide. This was also sent home in Friday Folders several weeks ago.
Unit 2 Math Assessment- will be given the week of October 21st.
CLICK HERE for the study guide.
Native Americans Assessment- will be given the week of October 28th.
A study guide will be sent home after the break.
Odds and Ends
Folktale Assessment Data will be sent home after the break and families will be contacted for retake opportunities.
Maidu Historic Site Field Trip: We are heading to The Maidu Historic Site on October 20th. Our chaperones are David, Sarah, Diana, and Brandon. Thank you for volunteering and coming with us!
Core Value: This month our Westlake Charter School Core Value is Excellence!
WCS News
International Walk to School Day:
Please join us on Friday, October 17th for the biggest Walking School Bus of the year! We will depart Burberry Community Park near Northborough Drive and Club Center Drive at 7:50 AM on a walk to school where we will join an epic dance party with a DJ. You don’t want to miss this celebration!
Specialty Classes:
Art - Ascheman
Third grade artists will draw their own crystal forms and use their knowledge about color value to shade their crystal drawings with the colors of the rainbow. (ROYGBIV)
PE -Morales
Greetings Movers! This week we will continue mastering our overhand throwing proficiency. Specifically aiming with precision to hit a target. ****This is also my final week with 3nd grade. Let's give a warm welcome back to Mrs Morales as she returns from maternity leave the week of 10/13. It has been such a pleasure to work with 3rd grade and I will still see them around campus!
*Formal testing for overhand throwing with accuracy will be postponed until after the October break*
Spanish - Santos
Hola, familias. This week we will be learning about the Hispanic Heritage Month and the contribution Hispanic people have made to our culture and country.