Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Dear Parents,
I hope your child is talking excitedly about school and that he or she had a great first day in third grade! This packet includes important information that you should know as a third grade parent. I know this is a lot to look through, but after reading this information you will have a much better idea of how to help your child be successful in third grade.

Class Website and Blog Please visit our class website and blog at www.schaefer3.com. This is where you can find class updates, pictures, homework information, and more! I will post updates and class news on the blog, while procedures and important documents can often be found on links from the main page. If you have immediate questions, email is the best option to get in touch with me. Morning Arrival Children may arrive as early as 8:10 A.M., but the doors will not open for children and TAs until 8:15 in the morning. TAs, please do not enter the classroom before 8:15, as teachers will not yet be back from morning meetings. Once students enter the building, they are expected to go to their classroom and promptly get ready for the day. Homework Please set aside time every day to review homework and/or notes sent home with your student and to complete any homework that needs to be done. Parents should help in maintaining quality control (neatness and accuracy) when it comes to homework. Should your child have questions, please provide guidance without doing the work for your child. Students will have weekly homework consisting of spelling, reading, and math. Please carefully read details below. Star Homework Logs are sent home on Mondays and are due on Fridays. See the attached Sample Star

Homework Log.
o Completed homework activities need to be recorded Monday through Thursday on the log sheet and returned to school daily. Parent signatures are required daily as well. o Students earn ONE STAR for every day that they complete the following: Super Speed Math (two times per day), Tic-Tac-Know Spelling activity or Reading Response, and 10 minutes of reading a book of choice. One Star Homework is required and not optional. o Students earn TWO STARS if they read a total of 30 minutes and THREE STARS if they read a total of 45 minutes. Spelling tests are on Wednesdays and new spelling lists are sent home on Thursdays. Students have one week to study the words and complete three spelling activities for their Star Homework Log. The spelling homework, known as Tic-Tac-Know Spelling, is also due on Wednesday mornings and must be entirely complete in order to be considered on time. Students pick three spelling activities from the Tic-Tac-Know options that create three in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Reading Responses are to be completed in place of the Tic-Tac-Know Spelling activity on Wednesdays and are due on Thursdays. There will be a menu of options for each Reading Response. Students choose three of the items and respond to them on the paper provided. Math: Students will occasionally have nightly math homework if the assignment is not finished during class work time. This math is always due the next day. For this reason, it is crucial that students set aside time with a parent to check on work that needs to be done that day. Students often will be asked to redo a math paper if he or she earns less than 80% accuracy.

Basic Homework At-A-Glance: Note that Star Homework Log stands for minimum of 1 star requirements explained above. Nightly math homework is not included in this visual, as it depends on whether a student has this extra assignment to finish. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Due: Signed Weekly Progress Reports Due: Star Homework Log Due: Star Homework Log -ANDSpelling Tic-Tac-Know (3 items) & Test To Do: Continue Star Homework (do Reading Response instead of Spelling activity) Due: Star Homework Log AND Reading Response Due: Star Homework Log

To Do: Star Homework

To Do: Continue Star Homework

To Do: Continue Star Homework (do Spelling activity with your new words)

To Do: Review Weekly Progress Report with a parent and get parent signature

Expandable File/Organization Students should have a 7 pocket expandable file to organize their schoolwork. The pockets need to be labeled in the following order front to back: 1. Communication (This includes hot lunch, notes, permission slips, weekly reports, etc.) 2. Star Homework (This will hold the Star Homework log sheet, Super Speed Math papers, and Reading Responses) 3. Spelling (This will hold Tic-Tac-Know Spelling which is turned in on Wednesdays) 4. Math (This will hold math homework that did not get done in class as well as papers to redo) 5. Bible (This will hold Bible Journals and memory verses) 6. Reading/Writing (This will hold Writing Journals and other handouts) 7. Notebook Paper Please check the first four pockets each day. You may send notes to me by placing them in the Communication pocket (it is the students responsibility to turn notes in to me as I will not personally check every students expandable file). This section is useful for parent-teacher communication and getting papers to and from school. Weekly work will also be placed in this section before the weekend. You may also decide that it is a good place to travel hot lunch envelopes and ticket orders. Collecting Work It is a good idea to store your childs weekly work in a special place at home each quarter so that it can be retrieved in th e event that an assignment gets missed in my records. I want to make sure everyone gets proper credit for his or her efforts! Weekly Progress Reports Weekly progress reports are sent home at the end of each week along with graded student papers. These slips will communicate how your child is doing and if there is any missing work. I will write comments as necessary and expect your child to share these with you. Parents, please sign the weekly report and have your child return it on Monday or the first day

of the week. Once you have reviewed the work, keep the attached papers at home.
Grading The grading system in third grade is based on a plus, check, minus scale. Though I use percentages on a daily basis for most subject areas, the percentages and symbols translate to the academic grades as follows: + means Area of Strength 94-100% means Developing 75-93% means Area for Improvement 74% and below Everything we do in class and as homework has value, therefore students need to understand that everything we do deserves our best effort. V.I.P. Week Every student will get a chance to be the V.I.P. (Very Important Person) for one week of school. The V.I.P. helps the teacher with various leadership tasks and also gets special opportunities during the week. The purpose of having a V.I.P. is to have a

classroom leader and to give every student a chance to share about his or her life, family, passions, etc. As a classroom community, we value each and every student as unique and want to celebrate both similarities and differences! This is a special week for our V.I.P.s, and students love it! As parents, you can help them get their creative juices flowing as they make their about me poster for Mondays. Each day, there is something special for the V.I.P. to either do or share. Attached is the V.I.P. schedule and a more detailed guideline to what the V.I.P. week looks like. Mark your calendars for your childs special week! Cursive Third graders will continue learning cursive penmanship and will be required to write exclusively in cursive around the second half of the year. If you choose to work with your child outside of school on cursive, please refer to the Cursive Formation Guide (see attached) so that your child practices the same form as GSS. Mystery Reader Are you a parent, friend, or relative that is interested in reading a picture book aloud to the class? If so, you could be a Mystery Reader! If you would like to do this, please email me. Mystery Readers are to remain a secret (not even your child should know about this). Water Bottles Students are encouraged to bring a sealable water bottle to keep on their desk. Please label your childs water bottle with his or her name. Lockers Each student will be assigned to a school locker. Personal belongings such as backpacks, lunches, and school supplies will be stored in lockers daily. Locks are allowed only if I have the combination recorded or if I have an extra key. Lockers must remain unlocked throughout the duration of the day but may be used when students leave for the day. Magnets and locker shelves are useful, but please do not use stickers or tape. Snack Students will be allowed to bring a healthy snack every day to keep them energized before lunch. The snack must be something the students can eat quickly and quietly, such as grapes, string cheese, crackers, etc. Please talk to your child about choosing a nutritious snack if they plan on grabbing an item from their cold lunch. High-sugar content IS NOT beneficial for your childs learning and focus in the morning. Keep those for a treat at lunch time! Water is the only beverage to be consumed in the classroom, while other beverages are fine for lunch. Birthday Treats Birthday treats are completely optional. Students who choose to bring treats can give them to me when they arrive in the morning. Ill store them until its time to celebrate. Please also provide napkins and proper utensils if necessary. Its best to stay clear of treats with nuts due to allergies. If your child has certain dietary requirements, please let me know. Im happ y to store extra treats special for him or her if the time comes for birthday treats or class parties. Notifications If you need to notify the school in the morning, send a note and/or email (with students name in the subject line) to alert both Linda Ojua (linda.ojua@goodshepherdcc.org) and me if there is a change in routine or something about which I should know (i.e. sudden carpool change, a play date, medical or emotional issue, appointment, etc.). There may be days where I dont get a chance to check my email right away, so its always a good idea to tell the office if it is urgent. Clothing Students need to wear clothing and shoes that they can run in comfortably for P.E. on Mondays and Tuesdays. Also, as the rainy days become more frequent, please note that classes might still go outside for recess (indoor facilities are not always guaranteed). Therefore, it is important that students come to school prepared for outside weather. Winter hats and gloves may be worn outside but will have to be taken off when inside the building.

Attendance Attendance is very important in third grade. In a single day, your child can miss a great deal of important learning. Please make sure that your child comes to school each day, fueled with a good breakfast. That way he or she will be bright-eyed and ready to learn! Students are considered tardy if they are not yet seated and ready for the day at 8:25AM. If a student is absent, I will have a While You Were Absent folder on their desk upon their return. This folder will include work that he or she missed. I f you are anticipating a time of absence, please notify me as early as possible so that I can prepare and plan my lessons accordingly. Specials Monday: Tuesday: Thursday: Computers/Library, P.E. and Spanish P.E. and Music Art, Music, and Spanish

Lunch There will be hot lunch Monday through Thursday. Students having hot lunch must bring their money or ticket to the classroom first thing in the morning and sign up for the lunch they want. Hot lunch tickets, purchased at the school office, are a very easy and convenient way to manage hot lunch orders. Cash must be in sealed envelopes (before arrival to school) with the students name and the amount written on the outside. If a student forgets to sign up for hot lunch, he or she will receive a Cup Noodles by Nissin. If the student forgets lunch a second time, he or she can get crackers from the school office one time only. If a student forgets lunch after that, there will be a phone call from the office. If we have a late start due to inclement weather, there is no hot lunch. Box Tops for Education Please help support Good Shepherd School in collecting box tops! Each box top is worth a dime, so the more box tops we can collect as a class, the more we can help out our school. Tell friends and family members about this too! The school goal this year is $500! Students can bring box tops in to the classroom throughout the year. Consequences for Negative Behaviors Some consequences for poor choices will include 1) verbal warning 2) extra lap to jog or walk at recess 3) goal slip home to parents. If a goal slip is sent home with a student, it needs to be signed and returned to Mrs. Schaefer the next school day. While there are some negative consequences, there are also positive reinforcements that we use! Student Profile Parents, please fill out the Student Profile (pink sheet) and return it to me by Monday, September 9th. This information is helpful for me at the beginning of the year. If you have any additional comments, attach it to the sheet or email me!
I look forward to working with you this year. Please continue praying for our class and for the learning that will take place! Thank you also for your involvement as parents; it is much appreciated by both your third grader and me!

In Christ,

Mrs. Schaefer