February 10, 2025
Dear Third Grade Parents,
3rd Grade Valentine’s Day Party
We are so excited to announce that we will be having our Valentine’s celebration on February 13th. Students will be staying in homerooms to spend time bonding with their classmates and teacher as it is very rare that we get to spend that extended time together. We will be celebrating by decorating Valentine’s bags (please no outside boxes or bags as we are trying to keep things uniform amongst the students), exchanging Valentine’s, having snack, and playing games with the students. We are really looking forward to this quality time with our students. Although we love inviting parents into our classroom, this particular party is for students and teachers only. Don’t worry, we will be having an end-of-the-year party that you will be welcome to attend.
Cough Drops
Now that we are in the midst of sick season, we wanted to send out a reminder about cough drops. We have checked with administration and cough drops are not allowed at school. We have an increasing number of students coming to school with baggies of cough drops and they are not allowed in classrooms. If you want your child to have access to cough drops at school, you will need to go through the front office’s protocol as cough drops are treated like any other medication at school. Thank you for your cooperation.
Current Sickness in 3rd Grade
We still have a lot of illnesses going around third grade lately. If you are unsure if your child is feeling well or not, please take their temperature before you send them to school. We truly appreciate your help to keep our students, teachers, and other adults in the building healthy by keeping your child home if they are not feeling well. Please keep students home until they are fully recovered, fever free and unmedicated for 24 hours.
Hero Points and AA Character
We have been giving students daily reminders of our expectations for third grade behavior. Going forward, we will be deducting Hero points from students for undesirable behavior. We would like to encourage you to spend some time with your student reviewing our AA Character Traits over the weekend.
Character Program | American Academy
Lunch Bunch
One of our favorite activities to do with students is to enjoy lunch with them in the classroom. There has been some confusion among the students about exactly how this works. There are two ways students can enjoy lunch with a teacher. One way is that parents sign up through the newsletter link to bring lunch for their student, student’s friend (can also be included), and teacher of choice. Please check with the teacher via email the Friday before the scheduled lunch to ask what they would like to order for lunch. The other way students can enjoy lunch with a teacher is to use their earned Hero bucks to purchase a “Lunch with Teacher” coupon. With this coupon the student will choose which teacher they would like to eat with, schedule it with them and invite one friend. The students and teacher will eat whatever they brought for lunch together in the classroom. We hope this clears up any confusion and look forward to enjoying more quality time and conversations over lunch with students.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom this week we focused on Wish Week and how we could work together as classroom communities to share kindness around the school. Thank you for all of your coin war donations!
Third Grade Math: We have now moved on to Chapter 7: Applying Multiplication and Division. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. We have been reviewing text structures and we will also begin working on informative writing in the weeks to come. Students have received the information for their book reports which will be due on 2/18. Please do not send projects to school prior to 2/18, as we do not have the space to hold them in our classrooms. New spelling words will be sent home on Tuesday 2/4. Please make sure your students are practicing.
Shaw Science: We are finishing up T2 with a unit on Forces. In T3 third grade students will begin going to STEM. Stay tuned for more information soon.
Thielk History: We are almost done with our learning on Vikings. The time is going quickly, we will have a vocab quiz next week and start our end of unit assessment where we will be doing a Viking journey.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We have finished the last of the 3rd grade fraction chapter this week. When the review goes home please work through the problems or parts they missed. We will be back in the 4th grade book on Monday. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Dear Third Grade Parents,
Thank you for all of your donations and support during such a fun Wish Week! We hope you enjoy your Friday off and we can’t wait to see the kiddos back on Monday.
Cough Drops
Now that we are in the midst of sick season, we wanted to send out a reminder about cough drops. We have checked with administration and cough drops are not allowed at school. We have an increasing number of students coming to school with baggies of cough drops and they are not allowed in classrooms. If you want your child to have access to cough drops at school, you will need to go through the front office’s protocol as cough drops are treated like any other medication at school. Thank you for your cooperation.
Current Sickness in 3rd Grade
We still have a lot of illnesses going around third grade lately. If you are unsure if your child is feeling well or not, please take their temperature before you send them to school. We truly appreciate your help to keep our students, teachers, and other adults in the building healthy by keeping your child home if they are not feeling well. Please keep students home until they are fully recovered, fever free and unmedicated for 24 hours.
3rd Grade Valentine’s Day Party
We are so excited to announce that we will be having our Valentine’s celebration on February 13th. Students will be staying in homerooms to spend time bonding with their classmates and teacher as it is very rare that we get to spend that extended time together. We will be celebrating by decorating Valentine’s bags (please no outside boxes or bags as we are trying to keep things uniform amongst the students), exchanging Valentine’s, having snack, and playing games with the students. We are really looking forward to this quality time with our students. Although we love inviting parents into our classroom, this particular party is for students and teachers only. Don’t worry, we will be having an end-of-the-year party that you will be welcome to attend.
Hero Points and AA Character
We have been giving students daily reminders of our expectations for third grade behavior. Going forward, we will be deducting Hero points from students for undesirable behavior. We would like to encourage you to spend some time with your student reviewing our AA Character Traits over the weekend.
Character Program | American Academy
Lunch Bunch
One of our favorite activities to do with students is to enjoy lunch with them in the classroom. There has been some confusion among the students about exactly how this works. There are two ways students can enjoy lunch with a teacher. One way is that parents sign up through the newsletter link to bring lunch for their student, student’s friend (can also be included), and teacher of choice. Please check with the teacher via email the Friday before the scheduled lunch to ask what they would like to order for lunch. The other way students can enjoy lunch with a teacher is to use their earned Hero bucks to purchase a “Lunch with Teacher” coupon. With this coupon the student will choose which teacher they would like to eat with, schedule it with them and invite one friend. The students and teacher will eat whatever they brought for lunch together in the classroom. We hope this clears up any confusion and look forward to enjoying more quality time and conversations over lunch with students.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom this week we focused on Wish Week and how we could work together as classroom communities to share kindness around the school. Thank you for all of your coin war donations!
Third Grade Math: We have now moved on to Chapter 7: Applying Multiplication and Division. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. We have been reviewing text structures and we will also begin working on informative writing in the weeks to come. Students have received the information for their book reports which will be due on 2/18. Please do not send projects to school prior to 2/18, as we do not have the space to hold them in our classrooms. New spelling words will be sent home on Tuesday 2/4. Please make sure your students are practicing.
Shaw Science: Next week we will do a magnet lab and wrap up our unit on Forces. We will also have a unit test by the end of the week. Our next unit will be “Motion”.
Thielk History: We have taken our test over Ancient Rome and will do corrections next week. We will also begin our learning on the Vikings as well.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We have covered the basics of fractions this week. Next week we will be going over comparing fractions and identifying equivalent fractions. I will also be sending a letter home next week of what skills you can work on at home in fractions to help students keep building their foundational skills. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk
Friday, January 24, 2025
Dear Third Grade Parents,
We are so glad that it is finally warming up and students are able to have outside recess again.
Sickness in 3rd Grade
There has been a lot of illness going around third grade lately. We have noticed that students start to feel better and then feel worse again. Please help us keep our students, teachers, and other adults in the building healthy by keeping your child home if they are not feeling well and until they are fully recovered, fever free and unmedicated for 24 hours.
3rd Grade Valentine’s Day Party
We are so excited to announce that we will be having our Valentine’s celebration on February 13th. Students will be staying in homerooms to spend time bonding with their classmates and teacher as it is very rare that we get to spend that extended time together. We will be celebrating by decorating Valentine’s bags (please no outside boxes or bags as we are trying to keep things uniform amongst the students), exchanging Valentine’s, having snack, and playing games with the students. We are really looking forward to this quality time with our students. Although we love inviting parents into our classroom, this particular party is for students and teachers only. Don’t worry, we will be having an end-of-the-year party that you will be welcome to attend.
Wish Week
Harlem Wizards AA School-Wide Event
Sunday, January 26, 2024
4:00 - 6:00 PM (doors open at 3pm)
Legend High School Gym
Get into the game FREE by volunteering some of your time. Check out our volunteer needs and get signed up.
Monday, January 27th:
Theme-"Join the Wish Week Team" - wear a sports theme top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate)
Change wars begin in homerooms! (Runs through Thursday)
Tuesday, January 28th:
Theme - "Wear purple to support awareness for Cystic Fibrosis" - purple top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate). Students can purchase a Make A Wish Star during lunches for $1.
Wednesday, January 29th:
Theme - "Be a Fundraising SuperHero" - wear a Superhero top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate). Student Council will be selling Make A Wish/Disney themed items before school for $1, Mickey Ears for $2.
Thursday, January 30th:
Theme - "Magic Farewell"- wear pink, white, or a Disney top to give a magical send off fit for a princess. Wear your Mickey Ears for any flat donation.
Hero Points and AA Character
We have been giving students daily reminders of our expectations for third grade behavior. Going forward, we will be deducting Hero points from students for undesirable behavior. We would like to encourage you to spend some time with your student reviewing our AA Character Traits over the weekend.
Character Program | American Academy
Lunch Bunch
One of our favorite activities to do with students is to enjoy lunch with them in the classroom. There has been some confusion among the students about exactly how this works. There are two ways students can enjoy lunch with a teacher. One way is that parents sign up through the newsletter link to bring lunch for their student, student’s friend (can also be included), and teacher of choice. Please check with the teacher via email the Friday before the scheduled lunch to ask what they would like to order for lunch. The other way students can enjoy lunch with a teacher is to use their earned Hero bucks to purchase a “Lunch with Teacher” coupon. With this coupon the student will choose which teacher they would like to eat with, schedule it with them and invite one friend. The students and teacher will eat whatever they brought for lunch together in the classroom. We hope this clears up any confusion and look forward to enjoying more quality time and conversations over lunch with students.
Growth Spurts Galore!
Oh my goodness! The students grew like crazy over break. With that said, we are noticing increased uniform violations. Please check your students' uniforms to make sure their uniforms are fitting correctly. Shirts must be able to tuck in completely without easily coming untucked from raising a hand, and all skorts and shorts must be fingertip length or longer.
Technology
As our students continue to grow, the technology around them is going to continue to evolve. As a team (with your help), we want to ensure we are helping foster technology independence while learning the appropriate way of using it, specifically as a communication tool. To help with this, we have created a Digital Citizenship contract for the students. Teachers will be going over the contract with all of the students, then it will be coming home for you to go over with your child as well. If you have not returned your Digital Citizenship contract, please do so as soon as possible.
Learning Educational Responsibility and Problem Solving
As you are aware, one of the big focuses in third, fourth and fifth grade this year has been building independence. Along with this, students need to learn how to solve problems they may face during their educational career (ie: lost homework, forgotten assignments, notes from a class that was missed, makeup work from absence, etc). One way the teachers have already started working on this is the WIN expectations students complete daily; prioritizing and working through tasks. To continue developing and enhancing this skill, the teachers are encouraging students to use resources they have to solve problems they may face. Resources students may use are: their planner, Infinite Campus, or Google Classroom. Nearly everything that takes place in the classroom can be found within those resources. If those resources don’t help solve their problem, the teachers are encouraging the students to come speak with them during WIN time. If the student has exhausted all options, we are asking that you sit with them to formulate an email (using your email) to ask for the assistance they need. We want to ensure the students are getting the support they need and learning the proper ways of communicating via email.
January Coffee With Admin
Do you have questions or concerns about our curriculum, policies and procedures; Or suggestions or feedback for our teaching staff and administration? Rather than bringing it to a social platform or the AA Community Facebook page, why not come in and take the opportunity to have a face to face conversation with myself, April Winder and Robyn Hunt. Having the opportunity to meet with or speak with us, and have all of your questions or concerns addressed, is also a great way to convey to other parents our philosophy on education, curriculum, academic accomplishments, and vision for helping students succeed. If we’re going to continue to be successful as an exceptional charter and school community, communication, transparency, honesty and accessibility are imperative! I encourage you to come to our next Coffee With Admin on Thursday, January 30, and share your thoughts and questions. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided! Please click on the following link to RSVP!
Mid Year Items Still Needed (Pencil Sharpeners and Headphones)
As we are in the middle of the year, it is time to check in with supplies students may need replaced. One of the big things we have noticed is that many students are without pencil sharpeners and headphones. Many of these have already broken this year and need replacement. Please check in with your child to see if they need a new pencil sharpener, headphones, or any other supplies that may have been lost or broken. It is important for 3rd grade students to be prepared with their supplies each day. Thank you for your help with this.
Planner Usage After Break
Many students are not using their planners and filling them out daily. When we come back from break we are going to be using them more often and filling them out to keep track of important dates and homework. We are going to be focusing more on the planner as it is a way for us to help prepare students for using them more in detail in fourth grade. Please talk to your child about making sure they are bringing their planner to school everyday and filing it out as a way to stay organized.
Self Advocating in 3rd Grade
We wanted to make everyone aware of how the teachers are using the Missing assignment feature in IC. Third grade is the first year that students are seeing different teachers for each subject area. All teachers are now seeing anywhere between 70 to 100 students daily. When teachers put in a missing in the gradebook, it is for us to track to see what students still are not complete with that work or were absent. A missing grade does not always mean that they are getting the late policy on an assignment, it is more of a reminder that as a teacher we need to check in with that student to see if they have finished that work. Please make sure that you check-in with your child about why that assignment is missing and have them come talk to their teacher and self-advocate for themselves before you email the teacher. As a third grade team we are busy helping students and creating an atmosphere where students want to succeed in school and take responsibility for their learning. We want to help them be successful and one way to do that is to teach them how to self-advocate for themselves.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom we are working through our unit on self management. Students are learning to manage their feelings, ranges of feelings, belly breathing and stress busting strategies.
Third Grade Math: We are still working through Chapter 5, Understanding Division with the students. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. We will also begin working on informative writing in the weeks to come. Students have received the information for their book reports which will be due on 2/18. New spelling words will be sent home on Thursday. Make sure your students are practicing.
Shaw Science: This week we learned about friction and gravity and enjoyed building marble mazes with clay. We have just a little bit left to go in our forces unit. There will be a quiz early next week over lessons one and two as well as a fun magnet lab.
Thielk History: We are still in our unit on Ancient Rome. We learned about Pompeii this week. Next week we will finish our learning and have an end of unit test over Ancient Rome. We will then move to our next unit over the Vikings.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We will review fractions, comparing fractions, and equivalent fractions before learning Chapter 9 in the 4th Grade Go Math content. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk
Friday, January 17, 2025
Dear Third Grade Parents,
We have had another great week in 3rd grade! It has been nice to settle back into our routine. We hope you stay warm over this three-day weekend
Hero Points and AA Character
We have been giving students daily reminders of our expectations for third grade behavior. Going forward, we will be deducting Hero points from students for undesirable behavior. We would like to encourage you to spend some time with your student reviewing our AA Character Traits over the weekend.
Character Program | American Academy
Lunch Bunch
One of our favorite activities to do with students is to enjoy lunch with them in the classroom. There has been some confusion among the students about exactly how this works. There are two ways students can enjoy lunch with a teacher. One way is that parents sign up through the newsletter link to bring lunch for their student, student’s friend (can also be included), and teacher of choice. Please check with the teacher via email the Friday before the scheduled lunch to ask what they would like to order for lunch. The other way students can enjoy lunch with a teacher is to use their earned Hero bucks to purchase a “Lunch with Teacher” coupon. With this coupon the student will choose which teacher they would like to eat with, schedule it with them and invite one friend. The students and teacher will eat whatever they brought for lunch together in the classroom. We hope this clears up any confusion and look forward to enjoying more quality time and conversations over lunch with students.
Conferences are Coming
Winter Conferences are right around the corner! They will be held the week of January 27th. Sign-ups are posted on our third grade page.
Wish Week
Harlem Wizards AA School-Wide Event
Sunday, January 26, 2024
4:00 - 6:00 PM (doors open at 3pm)
Legend High School Gym
Get into the game FREE by volunteering some of your time. Check out our volunteer needs and get signed up.
Monday, January 27th:
Theme-"Join the Wish Week Team" - wear a sports theme top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate)
Change wars begin in homerooms! (Runs through Thursday)
Tuesday, January 28th:
Theme - "Wear purple to support awareness for Cystic Fibrosis" - purple top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate). Students can purchase a Make A Wish Star during lunches for $1.
Wednesday, January 29th:
Theme - "Be a Fundraising SuperHero" - wear a Superhero top with uniform bottom (bring $1 to participate). Student Council will be selling Make A Wish/Disney themed items before school for $1, Mickey Ears for $2.
Thursday, January 30th:
Theme - "Magic Farewell"- wear pink, white, or a Disney top to give a magical send off fit for a princess. Wear your Mickey Ears for any flat donation.
Growth Spurts Galore!
Oh my goodness! The students grew like crazy over break. With that said, we are noticing increased uniform violations. Please check your students' uniforms to make sure their uniforms are fitting correctly. Shirts must be able to tuck in completely without easily coming untucked from raising a hand, and all skorts and shorts must be fingertip length or longer.
Technology
As our students continue to grow, the technology around them is going to continue to evolve. As a team (with your help), we want to ensure we are helping foster technology independence while learning the appropriate way of using it, specifically as a communication tool. To help with this, we have created a Digital Citizenship contract for the students. Teachers will be going over the contract with all of the students, then it will be coming home for you to go over with your child as well. If you have not returned your Digital Citizenship contract, please do so as soon as possible.
Learning Educational Responsibility and Problem Solving
As you are aware, one of the big focuses in third, fourth and fifth grade this year has been building independence. Along with this, students need to learn how to solve problems they may face during their educational career (ie: lost homework, forgotten assignments, notes from a class that was missed, makeup work from absence, etc). One way the teachers have already started working on this is the WIN expectations students complete daily; prioritizing and working through tasks. To continue developing and enhancing this skill, the teachers are encouraging students to use resources they have to solve problems they may face. Resources students may use are: their planner, Infinite Campus, or Google Classroom. Nearly everything that takes place in the classroom can be found within those resources. If those resources don’t help solve their problem, the teachers are encouraging the students to come speak with them during WIN time. If the student has exhausted all options, we are asking that you sit with them to formulate an email (using your email) to ask for the assistance they need. We want to ensure the students are getting the support they need and learning the proper ways of communicating via email.
January Coffee With Admin
Do you have questions or concerns about our curriculum, policies and procedures; Or suggestions or feedback for our teaching staff and administration? Rather than bringing it to a social platform or the AA Community Facebook page, why not come in and take the opportunity to have a face to face conversation with myself, April Winder and Robyn Hunt. Having the opportunity to meet with or speak with us, and have all of your questions or concerns addressed, is also a great way to convey to other parents our philosophy on education, curriculum, academic accomplishments, and vision for helping students succeed. If we’re going to continue to be successful as an exceptional charter and school community, communication, transparency, honesty and accessibility are imperative! I encourage you to come to our next Coffee With Admin on Thursday, January 30, and share your thoughts and questions. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided! Please click on the following link to RSVP!
Mid Year Items Still Needed (Pencil Sharpeners and Headphones)
As we are in the middle of the year, it is time to check in with supplies students may need replaced. One of the big things we have noticed is that many students are without pencil sharpeners and headphones. Many of these have already broken this year and need replacement. Please check in with your child to see if they need a new pencil sharpener, headphones, or any other supplies that may have been lost or broken. It is important for 3rd grade students to be prepared with their supplies each day. Thank you for your help with this.
Planner Usage After Break
Many students are not using their planners and filling them out daily. When we come back from break we are going to be using them more often and filling them out to keep track of important dates and homework. We are going to be focusing more on the planner as it is a way for us to help prepare students for using them more in detail in fourth grade. Please talk to your child about making sure they are bringing their planner to school everyday and filing it out as a way to stay organized.
Self Advocating in 3rd Grade
We wanted to make everyone aware of how the teachers are using the Missing assignment feature in IC. Third grade is the first year that students are seeing different teachers for each subject area. All teachers are now seeing anywhere between 70 to 100 students daily. When teachers put in a missing in the gradebook, it is for us to track to see what students still are not complete with that work or were absent. A missing grade does not always mean that they are getting the late policy on an assignment, it is more of a reminder that as a teacher we need to check in with that student to see if they have finished that work. Please make sure that you check-in with your child about why that assignment is missing and have them come talk to their teacher and self-advocate for themselves before you email the teacher. As a third grade team we are busy helping students and creating an atmosphere where students want to succeed in school and take responsibility for their learning. We want to help them be successful and one way to do that is to teach them how to self-advocate for themselves.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom we are working through our unit on self management. Students are learning to manage their feelings, ranges of feelings, belly breathing and stress busting strategies.
Third Grade Math: We are still working through Chapter 5, Understanding Division with the students. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. Our main focus is on text features. New spelling words will be sent home on Thursday. Make sure your students are practicing.
Shaw Science: We are now in the middle of our unit on Forces. We have some more fun activities coming up next week.
Thielk History: We are still in our unit on Ancient Rome. We learned about the Colosseum this week with an interactive Field Trip. Next week we will be discussing Pompeii.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We have had our test over Chapter 8 and will do corrections next week Please be on the lookout for an email to be sent about more detailed next steps we are taking as a class to ensure all students are successful. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Dear Third Grade Parents,
We had a great first week back! There was a lot of snow and a lot of cold, and the kids handled it all wonderfully.
Conferences are Coming
Winter Conferences are right around the corner! They will be held the week of January 27th. Please look for an email Monday, January 13th, with the sign-up links. We will also post the links on our third grade page. Sign-ups will be open from January 13th to January 24th.
Growth Spurts Galore!
Oh my goodness! The students grew like crazy over break. With that said, we are noticing increased uniform violations. Please check your students' uniforms to make sure their uniforms are fitting correctly. Shirts must be able to tuck in completely without easily coming untucked from raising a hand, and all skorts and shorts must be fingertip length or longer.
Technology
As our students continue to grow, the technology around them is going to continue to evolve. As a team (with your help), we want to ensure we are helping foster technology independence while learning the appropriate way of using it, specifically as a communication tool. To help with this, we have created a Digital Citizenship contract for the students. Teachers will be going over the contract with all of the students, then it will be coming home for you to go over with your child as well. Please sign and have your child return the contract to school the following day. All contracts will be sent home by Monday, January 13th.
Learning Educational Responsibility and Problem Solving
As you are aware, one of the big focuses in third, fourth and fifth grade this year has been building independence. Along with this, students need to learn how to solve problems they may face during their educational career (ie: lost homework, forgotten assignments, notes from a class that was missed, makeup work from absence, etc). One way the teachers have already started working on this is the WIN expectations students complete daily; prioritizing and working through tasks. To continue developing and enhancing this skill, the teachers are encouraging students to use resources they have to solve problems they may face. Resources students may use are: their planner, Infinite Campus, or Google Classroom. Nearly everything that takes place in the classroom can be found within those resources. If those resources don’t help solve their problem, the teachers are encouraging the students to come speak with them during WIN time. If the student has exhausted all options, we are asking that you sit with them to formulate an email (using your email) to ask for the assistance they need. We want to ensure the students are getting the support they need and learning the proper ways of communicating via email.
January Coffee With Admin
Do you have questions or concerns about our curriculum, policies and procedures; Or suggestions or feedback for our teaching staff and administration? Rather than bringing it to a social platform or the AA Community Facebook page, why not come in and take the opportunity to have a face to face conversation with myself, April Winder and Robyn Hunt. Having the opportunity to meet with or speak with us, and have all of your questions or concerns addressed, is also a great way to convey to other parents our philosophy on education, curriculum, academic accomplishments, and vision for helping students succeed. If we’re going to continue to be successful as an exceptional charter and school community, communication, transparency, honesty and accessibility are imperative! I encourage you to come to our next Coffee With Admin on Thursday, January 30, and share your thoughts and questions. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided! Please click on the following link to RSVP!
Mid Year Items Still Needed (Pencil Sharpeners and Headphones)
As we are in the middle of the year, it is time to check in with supplies students may need replaced. One of the big things we have noticed is that many students are without pencil sharpeners and headphones. Many of these have already broken this year and need replacement. Please check in with your child to see if they need a new pencil sharpener, headphones, or any other supplies that may have been lost or broken. It is important for 3rd grade students to be prepared with their supplies each day. Thank you for your help with this.
Planner Usage After Break
Many students are not using their planners and filling them out daily. When we come back from break we are going to be using them more often and filling them out to keep track of important dates and homework. We are going to be focusing more on the planner as it is a way for us to help prepare students for using them more in detail in fourth grade. Please talk to your child about making sure they are bringing their planner to school everyday and filing it out as a way to stay organized.
Self Advocating in 3rd Grade
We wanted to make everyone aware of how the teachers are using the Missing assignment feature in IC. Third grade is the first year that students are seeing different teachers for each subject area. All teachers are now seeing anywhere between 70 to 100 students daily. When teachers put in a missing in the gradebook, it is for us to track to see what students still are not complete with that work or were absent. A missing grade does not always mean that they are getting the late policy on an assignment, it is more of a reminder that as a teacher we need to check in with that student to see if they have finished that work. Please make sure that you check-in with your child about why that assignment is missing and have them come talk to their teacher and self-advocate for themselves before you email the teacher. As a third grade team we are busy helping students and creating an atmosphere where students want to succeed in school and take responsibility for their learning. We want to help them be successful and one way to do that is to teach them how to self-advocate for themselves.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom we are working through our unit on self management. Students are learning to manage their feelings, ranges of feelings, belly breathing and stress busting strategies.
Third Grade Math: We are still working through Chapter 5, Understanding Division with the students. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. Our main focus is on text features. New spelling words were sent home on Thursday. Make sure your students are practicing.
Shaw Science: We have begun our unit on Forces. Next week we will be racing cars and experimenting with different levels of force.
Thielk History: We are still in our unit on Ancient Rome. We have learned about Roman architecture this week and the Roman games. Next week we will have some virtual field trips about architecture and do more learning about the roads, bridges, aqueducts and buildings the Romans built.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We have started Chapter 8 and next week we will finish up Chapter 8 and do our vocabulary quiz and test. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Dear Third Grade Parents,
This year is truly flying by! Thank you for all of your support in 2024. We hope you have a restful break with your family and we look forward to welcoming back the kiddos in 2025!
Mid Year Items Still Needed (Pencil Sharpeners and Headphones)
As we are in the middle of the year, it is time to check in with supplies students may need replaced. One of the big things we have noticed is that many students are without pencil sharpeners and headphones. Many of these have already broken this year and need replacement. Please check in with your child to see if they need a new pencil sharpener, headphones, or any other supplies that may have been lost or broken. It is important for 3rd grade students to be prepared with their supplies each day. Thank you for your help with this.
Holiday Gifts and 3rd Grade
With the holiday season upon us, we understand that your kiddos may be getting some new gifts. We do ask that you remember to please remind your children that toys need to be left at home (unless they are having show and tell of course) and that Stanley straw style water bottles are not allowed at school. We have many spills in our classrooms due to this type of water bottle and please ask that you keep those water bottles at home. Thank you!
Planner Usage After Break
Many students are not using their planners and filling them out daily. When we come back from break we are going to be using them more often and filling them out to keep track of important dates and homework. We are going to be focusing more on the planner as it is a way for us to help prepare students for using them more in detail in fourth grade. Please talk to your child about making sure they are bringing their planner to school everyday and filing it out as a way to stay organized.
Self Advocating in 3rd Grade
We wanted to make everyone aware of how the teachers are using the Missing assignment feature in IC. Third grade is the first year that students are seeing different teachers for each subject area. All teachers are now seeing anywhere between 70 to 100 students daily. When teachers put in a missing in the gradebook, it is for us to track to see what students still are not complete with that work or were absent. A missing grade does not always mean that they are getting the late policy on an assignment, it is more of a reminder that as a teacher we need to check in with that student to see if they have finished that work. Please make sure that you check-in with your child about why that assignment is missing and have them come talk to their teacher and self-advocate for themselves before you email the teacher. As a third grade team we are busy helping students and creating an atmosphere where students want to succeed in school and take responsibility for their learning. We want to help them be successful and one way to do that is to teach them how to self-advocate for themselves.
3rd Grade Volunteer Sign-ups
Please see the sign ups below for opportunities to volunteer your time to help out the third grade teachers. Our wonderful room moms have also included a lunch bunch sign up if you would like to bring in lunch for your child and a third grade teacher. We appreciate all of your help and generosity!
Specials Information
MB Elementary Music News | Ms. Love
MB Elementary PE News | Ms. Bauer
MB Elementary Tech News | Mrs. Brown
MB Elementary Art News | Ms. Easton
Weekly Plans
Below, you will find what each teacher/subject is focusing on:
Responsive Classroom: During Responsive Classroom we are working through our unit on self management. Students are learning to manage their feelings, ranges of feelings, belly breathing and stress busting strategies.
Third Grade Math: We are still working through Chapter 5, Understanding Division with the students. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home with your child as this will help them with their division facts.
Literacy: Unit 2: Animal Classification. Students are learning the essential skills of organizing, analyzing, and understanding data. Our main focus is on text features and you can expect to see new spelling words coming home after we return from break.
Shaw Science: Everyone’s animal habitat reports and dioramas turned out so incredible! The students put in so much effort and really delved into researching and learning how to ask the right questions. When we come back from break we will begin our unit on forces.
Thielk History: We are still in our unit on Ancient Rome. We had a fun escape room about Julius Caesar. When we come back from break we will continue our learning.
Thielk Accelerated Math: We have finished our zoo project this week. When we come back from break we will be starting Chapter 8 over Factors, Multiples, and Number Patterns. Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0-12. We have started our weekly fact quizzes that will be going in the gradebook.
Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. McMorrine
Ms. Newman
Ms. Pumphrey
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Thielk