Grade 3 Post September 2012.pdf

Grade 3 Post September 2012
Dear Parents,
I wanted to welcome both you and your child to
grade 3! I am very excited to be working with
your child again this year. I thoroughly enjoyed
teaching science to the class last year and I
cannot wait to get to know them and you more!
I have been very busy this summer preparing for
the school year. I have read several books on
education and attended Math Camppp. I hope
to implement what I have learned into the
classroom this year to enrich your child’s
learning experience.
In our classroom we will be following the school
model of TRACK (Trust Respect Appreciation
Community and Kindness). In order to achieve
this each morning we will have a community
circle which will follow the TRIBES and
Restorative Practice(introduced to our school
last year) models. Another way that I will build
community within the classroom is by having
the students work together by having classroom
jobs each week. Developing classroom promises
together, students can earn Dunn Dollars and
group tokens for being on task, students can
earn Lovely Lion for being kind to our friends,
and through modelling each trait in my
interactions with the students.
I hope to have a newsletter go out each month.
I also have a class website where you can find
news, a class calendar, the homework, and
great links to educational resources.
I look forward to our journey together this year.
To help me get to know your child better, please
fill out the “NOTE FROM HOME” in your child’s
agenda.
Please feel free to contact me at the school or
through the agenda.
Sincerely, Mrs. Dunn
Just a reminder:
Gym will be on day 1, 3&and 5. Students need to have
indoor running shoes in order to participate in gym. Gym
will be taught by Mr. Howard
Library will be on day 1. Library will be with Ms. Staples.
Using an agenda develops an important life skill of
organization. This year the agendas will cost $7. Please
send in as soon as possible. We will be using our agendas
every day. And it is a great tool for communication
between home and school.
Some Important dates:
Open House: September 13 th 6pm until 7pm
Terry Fox Run: September 26 th
Progress Reports come home: November 16th
Student-Parent/Teacher interviews: Late
November( dateTBA)
Class Web Site
http://mail.tldsb.on.ca/~Wendy.Dunn
Please make sure to check out the class website
each week. There you will find the homework in
PDF format so that you can print it off if it gets
left at school. I will also try to update the site
weekly with information and pictures of what we
are doing in class and in the school.
You can also link to the class site through our
school site when you click on the tab “Classroom
Websites”.

Grade 3 Post September 2012
$$$$ DUNN DOLLAR$ $$$$
One of the reward systems in our
classroom will be DUNN DOLLAR$.
Students can earn “money” each
week by completing their class
job, being on task, bringing
their agenda each day, through
following our class
promises(rules that we have
agreed to in order to model “R”
in TRACK), or for going above
and beyond and helping out a
friend.
Each student will have an
envelope in which to store their
DUNN DOLLAR$. They will then
keep a balance of how much money
they have earned.
At the end of each month
students can choose to spend
their dollars on a prize or save
up. The prize bins are $10, $25
and $50.
If you would like to donate an
item to the bins you are more
than welcome to. Most items are
purchased at the dollar store,
and may be a toy, a hair clip,
note pad, pencils, etc.
Community Circle
Each day we will start with community circle
where students will have a chance to read the
morning message, answer a class question (e.g.,
With one sentence describe your weekend.), and
there will also be time for SHOW and SHARE.
Language Focus:
Reading: “The more that you
read, the more things you will know. The
more that you learn, the more places
you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
Every other week there will be a reading
component for homework.
Reading with your child is an important
part of their development. In school we
will be focusing on some reading
strategies that the students started last
year. In their welcome package there is a
bookmark with these strategies. They are
outlined below. Please practice using
these strategies with your child so that
they become confident with them.
Our first focus will be on Eagle Eye,
where we look at the pictures for clues
when we cannot figure out a word.
Eagle Eye-Look at the pictures
Lips the Fish- Get your lips ready(to say
the sounds of the letters)
Strechy the Snake- Stretch It Out
Chunky Monkey-Chunk the Word
Skippy Frog-Skip the Word, read to the
end then hop back and re-read it
Tryin’ Lion-Try it Again
Helpful Kangaroo-If you’ve done all of the
strategies—Ask for Help

Grade 3 Post September 2012
Homework Packages:
Students have received an All ABOUT
ME poster that is due on Friday.
Next week, yellow homework duotangs will be
coming home. It is important that you support
your child while they do homework, through
encouraging them and answering their
questions.
Each Monday I will send home the doutang.
Within it there will always be a language
question/task (either focused on writing or
reading) and a math question/task. Students
are expected to bring the duotang back each
Friday with their homework complete. Often
there will be a choice in task/question so that
students can choose one that is at their level. If
homework is not completed and handed in on
Friday, the students will have an opportunity to
work it with my support during our FREE TIME
FRIDAY. This will occur for approximately the
last 20 minutes of Friday each week.
It is my intention that homework will be to
practice the skills that we have already learned
in class. Students will be able to complete it
independently with some support. As a parent
it is a chance to see what we are covering in
class and to see what your child is capable of. If
your child is struggling with the homework
please encourage them to ask me for help, or
write a quick note in the agenda.
Homework will begin next week.
Writing: Writing is an
exploration. You start from
nothing and learn as you go."
E. L. Doctorow
Our first focus in writing will be on
re-telling. Students will be telling about their
summer vacations, their favourite memory,
etc. At home you can help students get this
skill down orally by talking about their day at
school. When they are telling you a story
make sure that they answer the Who? What?
Where? When? and How?
Math Focus:
We will start of our year by
reviewing and practice our
numbers. At home students can
practice counting, see how high
they can go by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. For an
extra challenge, try going up by 3’s, 7’s, or
25’s. How high can they go? How high can
you go? (In grade 3 our goal is 1000). Make it
a challenge between you by taking turns and
trying to skip count together (e.g. you say 2,
they say 4, etc).
Another focus in math will be on naming
geometric shapes and patterning.
We will also be working on our problem
solving skills. My goal is to have students
highlight or underline key information in the
problem. They also need to show their work.
Just giving an answer does not show student
thinking. Students can show their thinking by
using pictures, words, number sentences,
using manipulatives and many other ways.
Science focus- we will start the year by
looking at Growth and Changes in Plants
Social Studies- Pioneers and First Nations
Visual Arts-
Gym- Cross Country running, soccer and
cooperative games with Mr. Howard

Grade 3 Post September 2012