Welcome to 3V 

Dear Parents,

Welcome to third grade!  I am looking forward to working with you and your child this year.  As we begin a new school year together I would like to share some information about our class.

Absences – When your child is absent from school please help him or her complete all make up work as soon as possible.  The general rule for missed work due to an absence is that the student has one day for each day absent to make up the work.  Also for an absence or a tardy, the office needs a note when your child returns to school.

Art – We have art on Wednesday’s at 10:30 with Mrs. Burau in the middle school.

Birthday Treats – Your child is welcome to bring a treat for his or her birthday.  Please send something simple and easy to handle.  Summer birthdays will be celebrated in May.  I will send a schedule home then.  We have 21 students in 3V at this time.

Bookbags – Please check your child’s bookbag every night.  There will be a weekly schedule sent home on Fridays.

Book Orders – About once a month a book order will be sent home.  Ordering is optional.  Please send cash or a check in a marked envelope.  Checks should be made out to Scholastic Book Club.

Computer Lab – We will have computer lab on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings with Mrs. Vogel. 

Discipline – Assertive discipline is used at Seton.  The children know the rules and consequences.  This makes the students responsible for their behavior.

Homework – Personal reading, practice spelling words 5-10 minutes, and practice math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and later division) 5-10 minutes.  Any incomplete work from the day will be sent home as homework.  Students must study and prepare for tests.  Textbooks will be sent home a day or 2 before the test depending on the subject.

Library – The library has been moved to the middle school.   When the library is complete and the librarians are set to begin, we will be going to the library once a week.  As soon as I know our library schedule, I will let you know.   Students need a personal reading book in their desks at all times.  They may read books and keep them in their desks from the classroom library.

Snacks – Students may bring a nutritious snack to school daily.  Snack time is around 10:00.  We will continue working while as we have the snack.

Terra Nova/California Achievement Tests – The Terra Nova Tests will be given to all third graders beginning Wednesday, September 12 and ending by Monday, September 24th.  Please make sure your child has plenty of sleep during that time period, a good breakfast, and brings a healthy snack to school.

Tests – There are a few more tests this year than what your child is accustomed to.  Tests for the week are listed on the weekly schedule so the students will have time to prepare for studying.  Please help your child study for the tests.  I will ask you to sign any test that your child scores 75% or lower.  That way you will know right away if there are any problems.

Weekly Schedules – Each Friday I will be sending home a schedule for the week.  This will include dates for tests, reminders to bring books home to study, and other special information.  Please look for this schedule each week so that you will be aware of what we are doing in class.  The weekly schedule will help you plan ahead and set aside time for your child to study.  Please keep in mind these schedules may change as the week’s progress.

Religion – I will be teaching religion 5 times a week.   We will attend Mass once a week.  We pray four times a day, in the mornings, before lunch, after lunch, and at the end of the day. 

Reading – We will be spending about a week on each story with a test every Friday over comprehension.  I want to encourage reading every day.  Students are required to have a personal reading book in their desks at all times.

Spelling – We will have a pre-test on Monday and then the final test on Friday.  The spelling list will be sent home on Mondays.  The spelling words correspond to the story we are reading. 

Handwriting – We will be reviewing the D’Nealian cursive letters.  Once we have reviewed all the lower and upper case letters, we will write in cursive most of the time.  I encourage neatness and legibility 

English – We will be working on sentence & paragraph writing, capitalization & punctuation, and parts of speech (including nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs). 

Math – Our math series encourages THINKING, not just doing math work.  The problem solving (or story problems) will be challenging for many.  Students should be reviewing addition and subtraction facts now and begin working on learning the multiplication facts.

Social Studies – There is a lot of content in these books.  You will be learning some things right along with your children as you help them study for the tests. 

I think we are off to a great start!  Please do not hesitate to contact me (757-5500) if you have a question or concern.  Thank you for your time and supportJ Kathleen VanDerGinst