Welcome to 3AH

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Weebly page

3AH Teaching Team

Ms Awhina
(Afina)

Mr Garrigan
EAL

Ms Emma

Ms Madiha
LS

Ms Laura LS

Ms Cia
Grade 3 Councilor

Ms Tehmina

A Few Bits n
Pieces
School Times

8:10 drop off in GYM. Students must arrive

for Specials at 8:15. Lateness disrupts
learning.
3:35 pick up from CLASSROOM. Courtyard
pick will commence once weather gets
cooler.
P.E.
Dress in PE kit on PE and Swimming days
(3, 5 and 6 Pink days on schedule)
Food and parties
Allergies
Everything is cut/bagged for birthday
celebrations

* Every Thursday School Finishes at 1.30pm

Essential
Agreement

Behaviour and
Self-Reflection
SELF-REFLECTION

DATE:

NAME:

What happened?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

What was wrong?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
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________________________________________________
________________________________________________
____________

What will I do next time?

________________________________________________

GWA Approach to
Education

Feedback and feed forward

Inquiry based
Challenged according to what
students are ready to learn
next (developmental approach)
Differentiation, activity based,
small group and individualized
learning

How We Know What

Students Have
Learned
Prior knowledge drives inquiry
starting at the Tuning In phase
Formative and summative
assessments (MAPs, other grade
level assessments)
Reflect on the process and not only
the product
Portfolios

Literacy
READING

WRITING

Learning to Read
vs Reading to
Learn

Shared, guided and

independent writing
Ideas
Organization
Conventions
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Voice
Presentation

At home
At least 20
minutes
Choose a
consistent time
and place
Be a part of it
Model it: Love it!

GWA Language

Spelling

Differentiated by ability within

the class - just right for the
learner- Words Their Way and
topic vocabulary.
Words assigned Sunday, test on
Thursday groupings assessed
throughout the year.
Weekly spelling practise
activities in Spelling notebooks
returned daily.

Numeracy

Numeracy refers to the ability to make sense of

mathematics and to use mathematics effectively in
real-life situations
Teach. Practise. Apply. Review Assess
Place value and review of addition and subtraction with
partitioning
Comparing, ordering, and rounding numbers
Units of measure-focusing on the metric system (time,
temperature, mass, length and capacity, perimetre, and
area)
Multiplication concepts and facts up to 10x10 and
related division facts
Collecting, organizing, analyzing and graphing data
Shape and space (incl. position and coordinates)
Patterns of numbers and shapes
Fractions simple fraction amounts, equivalents,
Our Numeracy
programme
focuses on
using and applying
ordering, addition
and subtraction
of fractions
skills problem solving, communicating and reasoning
Mental methods
mathematically.

PYP Units of Inquiry

Travellers' Tales Migration changes people
and the places they move to
Urban Communities Effective cities require
planning
Childrens Rights Children have rights and
responsibilities
Ecosystems at Risk Ecosystems are
affected by human activity
Air Exploring the properties of air allows us
to understand the behaviour of matter and
the way things work
Poetry through poetry people use

Supporting Learning
at Home
HOMEWORK GUIDELINES
A number of GWA-Dubai Elementary teachers have been involved in professional discussions and inquiry
into homework in elementary schools. Based on resources such as The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn
(2006) and a recent study released by the Center for Longitudinal Studies (UK), we found the following:

There is no positive correlation between homework and achievement for students before middle school.

Consistent reading for pleasure is directly linked to higher test scores.

Children who read for pleasure are likely to perform better in school than their peers.

As a consequence of the research and discussions into what is good for students, each grade level team
from KG2 Grade 5 has collaboratively developed a set of essential agreements for how homework will
look across the grade level. The common threads among all grade-level agreements are that:

Homework will always emphasise the importance of reading daily.

Homework should not be completed at the expense of students leading a healthy, balanced

life which should include relaxation, exercise, time with family and PLAY.

Any additional homework should involve an element of student choice to allow children and their
families to manage their at-home time effectively.

Some level of feedback should be provided on all homework tasks as a way of helping each student
develop their skills.
Suggested Grade Level Time Allotment for Homework (This includes reading for pleasure.)

PreK Kg2 Learning extensions on occasion

Grade 1 10-20 minutes 3 days per week
Grade 2 10-20 minutes 4 days per week
Grade 3 20-30 minutes 4 days per week
Grade 4 30-40 minutes 4 days per week
Grade 5 40-60 minutes 4 days per week

Supporting Learning at
Home

This is a brief we will be sending home on Sunday as part of the

Dear Parents:
first assigned
week of homework.
In keeping
with our philosophy
of individualized, differentiated and inclusive
learning and along with the GWA Elementary Homework guidelines, the Grade
Three Teachers will be offering the following homework. Students will complete
tasks with an element of choice so that students and their families can manage
their at-home time effectively.
Homework assignments are consistent across the grade level but there will be
plenty of opportunity for students to choose their own activities and challenge
themselves each week.
The expectation in Grade 3 is 20-30 minutes 4 days per week.
We value a balanced life for our students and dont want students spending all
evening doing school work. Homework will be assigned on SUNDAYS and
collected on THURSDAYS, allowing families the flexibility to choose how to
schedule homework time over the week. Please help your child develop a
homework routine and support them in their home learning, which best suits
your family each week.
For the most part, activities will be ones that the students are able to complete
independently. We dont want students (and parents!) frustrated by having
homework they do not understand. However, often the Inquiry / PYP Attitudes/
Arts homework will include experiences for students to have with you and other
family members.
There are a number of ACTIVITIES for students to choose from if they work
through the homework tasks quickly.

Supporting Learning
at Home
Homework expectations is
consistent across Grade 3
How parents can help talk,
encourage, share
Give your child the space and
opportunity to show responsibility
for their learning at home
Develop routines in your family to
share and celebrate learning

Communication

All communication is done via

our Grade 3 and class Weebly
pages
a.houpapa_gwa@gemsedu.com
Ask questions as they come up,
no need to wait for official
interview times. Open door
policy - as long as it does not

interrupt learning time!

Class Parent

Parent Wonderings
and Compliments

Please feel free to write down

a wondering or a question for
me.
Please leave a compliment for
your child to read in the
morning. Your encouragement
will be very much appreciated