Miss Goosen

Dear Goosen Nest Families,

Welcome to the grade three classroom also known as “The Goosen Nest” here at Mother
Mary Greene (MMG) School! I am very excited to be your child’s grade three teacher for the
2021/2022 school year. The purpose of this letter is to welcome you, provide important
information for the upcoming school year, and to learn more about what your child will be
learning this year. Please use the QR code below to access my welcome video:

My name is Kimberly Goosen. This will be my tenth year of teaching and I have spent the
majority of my career here at Mother Mary Greene. I graduated from the University of Calgary
with two degrees and a specialization in Early Childhood Education. I am passionate about
teaching and I look forward to creating a warm learning environment for your child where they
can learn their best. I have an open-door policy, which means please come to me with any
questions or concerns that you may have. We are partners in your child’s education, and I
look forward to building a relationship with you. Please make sure to join REMIND and our
google classroom and check out our classroom website.

kimberly.goosen@cssd.ab.ca 403 500 2095 http://teachergoosen3.weebly.com/

Miss Goosen
Our Classroom this Year
Mother Mary Greene has been working hard on creating new routines that adhere to the AHS guidelines to
keep students and staff safe. We are sanitizing hands, hand washing with soap and water, sanitizing desks and
sanitizing high touch surfaces throughout the day. Students are welcome to use their own hand sanitizer but,
we are requiring them to hand wash with soap and water before snack and lunch times.

Students from K-12 are required to wear masks while in the school building. Please make sure they are coming
to school with a clean mask every day and have an extra one in case the first mask gets wet. Students are able
to take their masks off when everyone is sitting in their desks and facing forward. I am also incorporating mask
breaks into our routines so they can have a break from wearing a mask and will not be wearing their masks
outside.

In an effort to minimize contact, Mother Mary Greene has divided the school into two cohorts, division one
and division two.

New Routines (Division 1)

• 9:45 – 10am - RECESS

• 10 – 10:15am - SNACK Time
• 11:30 – 12pm – LUNCH RECESS
• 12 – 12:30pm – LUNCH (inside the classroom)

What Will We Be Learning!

Language Arts
Language is an integral part of learning, both in and out of school. As students use language to recall, describe
and interpret their learning experiences, they develop additional language skills and discover new uses for
those they already have. The grade 3 students will also have library class with Mrs. Marcano.

Students will work on themes and the prescribed Language arts resources. This year the Grade 3’s will be
focusing on the following:

• Daily 5 – Read to Someone, Read to Self, Work on Writing, Listen to Reading and Word Work (Please
check out the classroom website to see an inside look at the different activities the students are
involved in).
• Narrative Writing, Expository Writing, Opinion Writing, Letter Writing, Speech Writing, Research –
Barbara Mariconda
• Literacy Centers
• Read-a-louds
 • Book Club
• Poetry
• Reader’s Theatre
• Mobile Library
• In-class Twitter board – “Honks”

Mathematics
The students will be involved in the math program called Math Makes Sense. I will also be incorporating a
program called Daily 2 Math. Students will be able to practice their skills they have learnt in class through
math games that they can play by themselves or with a partner. Please check out the website to see the types
of games they will be playing which can also be played at home with you!

The following are the main areas of focus from the Grade 3 Program of Studies:

• Number Sense
o 0 to 1 000
o Multiplication and Division
o Fractions as parts of a whole
• Patterns and Relations
o Increasing and decreasing patterns
o Solve one step addition and subtraction equations involving a symbol to represent an unknown
number
• Shape and Space
o Passage of time
o Describe 3D shapes
o Demonstrate an understanding of measuring length, mass and perimeter
o Identify and sort polygons
• Statistics and Probability
o Collect first-hand data
o Construct, label and interpret bar graphs to solve problems

Science
Students participate in classifying, observing, describing, measuring, recording and inferring while studying the
following topics:

• Rocks and Minerals

• Hearing and Sound
• Building with a Variety of Materials
• Testing Materials and Design
• Animal Life Cycles
Social Studies
The Social Curriculum for Grade 3 is “Connecting with the World”. Grade 3 students will investigate life in four
diverse communities around the world. The contemporary communities examined will be drawn from India,
Tunisia, Ukraine and Peru. Students will inquire into how geographic, social, cultural and linguistic factors
affect quality of life in communities in the world. Their understanding of global citizenship will be further
developed, and they will recognize Canada’s involvement in other parts of the world. Students will also
explore current events as they arise. The 3 main topics are as follows:

• Communities in the World

• Global Citizenship
• Local and Current affairs

Religious Studies
Through classroom activities, school liturgies and personal reflection students will explore the following units:

• Unit 1: Our Catholic Community

• Unit 2: The Road to Bethlehem
• Unit 3: Born of the Spirit
• Unit 4: Our Lenten Journey
• Unit 5: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Music
The elementary curriculum will be based on music appreciation, self-expression, creativity, and music skills
and knowledge. Students will be involved in a series of different musical experiences throughout the year.
The music class will be taught by myself and will be slightly modified due to COVID restrictions.

Art
Through art projects, many of which will be integrated into Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and
Mathematics, students will be encouraged to develop skills in painting, drawing, sculptures, and pastels. As
part of our Fine Arts study, students will be learning about a new artist in our “Artist of the Month” study.
Students will explore and learn about the following topics:

• Depiction
• Reflection
 • Expression
• Composition

Health
Active Living will be a time for students to go outside with Mrs. Schmidt as well as other students from
division one to participate in physical action. In Health, students will learn about making responsible and
informed choices to maintain health and to promote safety for self and others. Topics include:

• Wellness Choices
• Relationship Choices
• Life Learning Choices

Physical Education
Daily physical education will be part of the grade 3 year. This will be taught by Mrs. Schmidt. When students
do not have physical education in the gym, students will receive DPA or daily physical action in the classroom
with their teacher. Please note that the physical education program may be slightly modified due to COVID
restrictions. The physical education curriculum is based on:

• Being active daily

• Active Living
• The benefits to personal health
• Cooperation

Please provide indoor shoes for your child.

Evaluation and Assessment Procedures

It is important to note the difference between assessment and evaluation. “When we assess, we are
gathering information about student learning that informs our teaching and helps students learn more”.
“When we evaluate, we decide whether or not students have learned what they needed to learn and how well
they have learned it.” In our classroom, I will be using assessment for and of learning.

Teachers’ evaluation of students in various subject areas will be based on:

• student’s development of skills and application of skills and knowledge

• goal setting
• journals
• observations
 • work samples
• teacher made performance assessments
• rubrics
• anecdotal records
• self and peer evaluation
• conversations
• Performance Tasks

Progress reports are given out two times a year (January and June). Please note these are cumulative in
nature rather than term by term basis. We will be hosting parent teacher conferences (phone calls or via
ZOOM) in September, November, January, and April.

You will notice that your child will not be coming home with lots of “marked” assignments/activities. I believe
students learn best when they are involved in activities and I can see the process they take to understanding
the classroom material. If anything goes home, I will mark it with a star and a wish. This way your child can
understand best what they are doing well in and what their goal should be for next time. Please note anything
that goes home is just a portion of my total assessment of your child.

Attached Documents

• REMIND instructions
• Homework Policy
• Conference Manager Instructions
• Mother Mary Greene Parent Input Sheet for Conferences
• Goal Setting ideas - SMART Goals for each term
• LSP Input Form (if your child is on an LSP)

Thanks for taking the time to read this information and I look forward to a great year ahead!

Miss Goosen

Grade 3 Teacher
Mother Mary Greene
Kimberly.goosen@cssd.ab.ca
(403) 500-2095