I am so excited to have your child join my classroom for this school year!

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1 WELCOME TO THIRD GRADE I am so excited to have your child join my classroom for this school year! We re all excited to start the year as THIRD GRADERS! This year will be filled with opportunities to read, write, and explore other areas of learning. I believe students learn best by learning to work as a community of learners and connecting their learning to REAL things outside of school. To ensure this happens, we will need your involvement and support throughout the entire school year. Here s a little more about my expectations and policies for this school year: English/Language Arts: At McCormick Elementary, our teachers work hard to create classrooms with a balanced literacy emphasis while pushing students read AND understand what is being read. Students will be required to extend their thinking by reading independently, conferencing with their teachers, participating in book clubs, and conversing with partners. For your child to be successful, you must support reading outside of the classroom. Students should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes at home per day. Have your child read alone and aloud, then discuss the text with your child. Students will also participate in daily writing activities that will require written responses about what they have read. Math: We will continue to practice addition and subtraction with regrouping, and learn new skills such as multiplication, division, fractions, and solving multi-step problems. Students in third grade are expected to have addition and subtraction facts 1-20 memorized at the beginning of the year, and multiplication and division facts 1-12 memorized by the end of the year. Students should also work to improve their number sense (understanding numbers and how they work) while connecting math strategies to real-life situations.

2 Science: In South Carolina, Science is transitioning into a more comprehensive, inquiry-based learning style. Students are required to come up with their own scientific questions and develop procedures to find the answers. The emphasis is on the process and students discoveries of new methods and ideas to solve real-world problems. Focusing on scientific terms and vocabulary and consistently encouraging your child to observe and question their world are both great ways to support their scientific thinking. Social Studies: The focus for Social Studies in third grade is South Carolina History, along with the unique story of our varied geography and the diversity of its people. We will begin with early European explorers and settlements, move through the American Revolution, Civil War, and Civil Rights movement, and conclude our year s learning by discussing the foundation of our country s government and economy. To help students in Social Studies, parents should discuss these events with their children and try to help them understand on a kid-level. Also, reinforcing concepts, vocabulary, and the sequence of these events is a big help. Agenda: This year students will receive a school agenda/planner to record their homework and important reminders. It is very important that students are responsible for keeping up with the agenda, because it will be used all year long. Please check your child s agenda each night to make sure homework has been completed, and see any information regarding upcoming events. Agendas are not a good way to keep in contact with me because I use them as a tool to increase students responsibility and they aren t used at all on Fridays. Homework: Students should expect to have written homework in several subjects Monday through Thursday night, as well as reading 20 minutes nightly.

3 If you do not have books at home to read, your child should be bringing home library books every day. Please check for this. Students are responsible for writing their own homework daily, completing it, and returning it to school the next day. Students typically have a difficult time in class when concepts and strategies aren t being reinforced at home, so homework is an essential piece of your child s education. Teach your child the value and importance of homework to ensure this isn t a year long battle for you, your child, and myself. Students are required to turn in their homework first thing in the morning, and will receive silent lunch if it is missing without a legitimate written excuse with a signature and contact number. Graded Papers and Student Work: Students will come home with a folder that will be filled with graded work and important papers to keep at home. You should review everything in this folder with your child and remove any papers on the Take Home side, which include newsletters, permission forms, notices from the office, etc. Students will be given two nights to make this happen and it must be returned with signatures on all tests. Folders will be sent home at least once a week and typically on Tuesdays. Rules and Consequences: Within the first week of school, we go over rules and consequences. Recess time and/or other privileges will be lost when rules are broken. If your child has had several problems within one school day, a minor referral will be sent home. If the problem is not resolved after this point, a major referral will be used. Please the Students Rights and Responsibilities handbook for specific rules and expectations. Morning Procedures: When students arrive at school each morning, they will come to our classroom and sit in the hallway until 7:50am. At this time they will be invited into the classroom to unpack, turn-in homework, and sharpen pencils.

4 Morning work will be given each morning and the concepts covered will be assessed every Friday, so try to reinforce the importance of these assignments to your child and remember that punctuality and attendance are very important! Classroom Supplies: Please look over the third grade classroom supplies list and make sure your child comes to school on the first day with the required items. I will return any unused materials at the end of the year. During the year when we run out of pencils or erasers, I ll send home a note requesting you send more supplies. If you would like to donate any additional supplies to our classroom, please consider the following: Kleenex, dry erase markers, cap erasers, wide-ruled notebook paper, composition notebooks, highlighters, handheld erasers, hand sanitizer, hand soaps, Clorox wipes, Ziploc bags, crayons, colored pencils, crayons, or anything that could replenish supplies of children who might need extra when time is short! Any donations will be used responsibly and greatly appreciated. Toys: School is a place for learning and we will do activities to have fun in the process; however, ALL toys should be left at home. If they are brought to school, they will be taken away and will NOT be returned unless a parent/guardian comes to school to have a conference with the child and teacher. If you re unsure if something should come to school, I suggest leaving it at home! Celebrations/Parties: When the time comes for a party, I will send home a notice letting you know. At that time you can sign-up for items that you would be willing to send and I ll get back in touch with you shortly. Items that are not individually packaged will not be accepted, including chips and drinks. Do not send any items that include peanuts or possibly came in contact with

5 peanuts/peanut oil. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please request the information packet that addresses this and I will send it home with your child as soon as possible. Remember volunteers wanting to come to school and help with parties must be pre-approved through the district office and a background check. You may contact me by one of the following ways: * Write me a note and have your child turn it in the next morning * me at mcmanusc@mccormick.k12.sc.us * Call me at school (864.), but keep in mind I do not get phone messages until AFTER 3:00pm [at the earliest!] I am very excited about the upcoming school year and I expect all my students will be one team with one goal and have no limits. Mrs. McManus