Wonderful Week in Third Grade!!

Dear Parents,

It has been a fantastic first full week of school.  Getting to know my students, making each child feel comfortable, and helping them establish new friendships are my top priorities!  Building classroom expectations and routines help ensure a smooth, successful year.

HOMEROOM PARENT NEEDED: current vacancy!  Please email me if this is a job you are willing to undertake!  I promise it will be FUN! 

PARENT MEETING: Back to School Night will be Tuesday, September 11 at 7:00 pm. This is a very important informational meeting for parents and for that reason we ask you to make arrangements for childcare. We look forward to seeing you there.

LIBRARY CHECKOUT: Our class will have a weekly library lesson every Tuesday afternoon.  At that time, the students will also have the opportunity to check out books to read at home and one for class. Please remind your child to bring books back to school every Tuesday.

SNACK ANYONE? We will have snacks around 9:30.  Please help your child choose a healthy snack to bring to class each day. We also welcome students to bring a water bottle to use in the classroom and outside during recess.

NEEDS & WANTS:  Everyone will need a pair of earbuds for working on the chromebooks and laptops. Please begin sending them in this week. Thank you!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS: If desired, parents are able to purchase ice cream or cookies through the school cafeteria for an entire class.  Arrangements for birthday items should be made through the cafeteria prior to the occasion to ensure sufficient quantities are available. So we do not have hurt feelings, please do not distribute birthday invitations during school hours unless all students in the class are invited.  

HOMEWORK: 
Planners are completed daily.  Please check and initial your child’s planner nightly.

Students are required to read for a minimum of 20 minutes per night and record a quick response on their reading logs. Logs are DUE every Wednesday. Book Bucks are earned with every 100 minutes read.  Students can “purchase” books from our “Book Buck Libraries” with 10 book bucks.  Nightly reading is crucial to your child's overall reading success. Reading should be an interactive process, so please remember to initial or sign your child's log before turning it in on Wednesday. The first Reading Log is due this Wednesday. 

Each FRIDAY students will receive spelling lists and work. Practice spelling the words correctly and complete the homework packet due each THURSDAY. Spelling Tests will be administered on Fridays. Your child's first spelling list went home on Friday. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 
September 3rd - Labor Day, no school 
September 11th - PTA Meeting at 6:30 p.m./Open House @ 7:00 p.m. in my classroom (room 211)

Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions.  Thank you for reading my newsletter. Communication is the key for a successful year!

Enjoying your children,
Mrs. McDonald

Welcome to Third Grade!

Thank you families for a great beginning!  Our “classroom family” friendships are strengthening each day!

Our class has written a Social Contract which reflects how we wish to be treated and how others wish to be treated.  If a student makes a poor choice and causes a problem, we will discuss a way he/she can solve the problem in order to make a better choice in the future. We will work on “Own it, Learn from it, Fix it, and Move on!”

NEEDS & WANTS  

Each student will need a pair of earbuds for working on the computer.  Also, many of you have asked about addition classroom supplies. It is always nice to have a few boxes of quart size baggies, sandwich size baggies, and sanitizer on hand! Thanks!
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Back to School Night is coming up Tuesday, September 11th.  If at all possible, please arrange for children to have childcare so that teachers and parents will have the opportunity to focus on a short informational meeting about the upcoming school year. Child care will not be provided at school nor will children be allowed to sit in the hallways unmonitored. All children who accompany their parents will have to be in the classrooms. Not only will this be boring for your children, but it will add to an already crowded classroom. Hope to see you all there!

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

After updating the website each week, I will send an email your way to let you know updates have occurred.  The website is such an important source for classroom communication. In the coming weeks, I will use the newsletter to convey important, and often time sensitive, information to you on a weekly basis.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

ROOM PARENT

If you are interested in being our room parent this year, please send me an email me letting me know that you are interested. I thank you in advance for considering this very important volunteer role, and helping with classroom events and parties!

IMPORTANT REMINDER

RRISD requires any person volunteering (i.e., field trips, classroom, cafeteria, library, WatchDog Dads, etc.) to submit a Name Based Criminal History Check. The new volunteer application for the 2018-2019 school year is now available. Please remember that applications to be an approved volunteer MUST be submitted EVERY year. The District conducts background checks on every volunteer to help ensure the safety of our children. At this time of year, approval can take up to two weeks, so don't wait!! And, remember, ALL volunteers must be approved - room parents, classroom helpers, field trip chaperones, Watch D.O.G.S., etc., prior to volunteering.
Go to this link

DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, September 3rd – Labor Day holiday
Tuesday, September 11th – Back to School Night in our classroom at 7:00

WEEKLY HOMEWORK
Planners are completed daily.  Please check and initial your child’s planner nightly.

Students are required to read for a minimum of 20 minutes per night and record a quick response on their reading logs. Logs are DUE every Wednesday. Book Bucks are earned with every 100 minutes read.  Students can “purchase” books from our “Book Buck Libraries” with 10 book bucks. Nightly reading is crucial to your child's overall reading success. Reading should be an interactive process, so please remember to initial or sign your child's log before turning it in on Wednesday. We will begin logging next week!

Each FRIDAY students will receive spelling lists and work. Practice spelling the words correctly and complete the homework packet due the following THURSDAY. Spelling Tests will be administered on Fridays. We will begin spelling next week!

Depending on what we are studying, there may also be other homework assignments. The kiddos will write these assignments and their due dates in their planners.

DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Our number one priority is the safety of our students. We do our best to create a safe and efficient plan to dismiss our students. Parents should make every effort to formulate a plan to meet their child outside the building after school. If your plans change, please notify the office as soon as possible, so our office staff can notify the teacher. Teachers are not always able to check email or voicemail during the day, so please call the office if we need to get a change of dismissal notice to your child. The procedures for arrival and dismissal were given in the Welcome Walk packet.

IMPORTANT:  If your child walks to school, it is absolutely imperative that they cross at the designated crosswalks. Every day we see children crossing Boulder Lane outside of the crosswalks. This is extremely dangerous. We appreciate you impressing this on your child.

PTA

If you have not already, please consider joining PTA.  PTA funds provide valuable classroom programs! Our goal at CCE is 100% participation!

FINAL THOUGHTS...
This is going to be a fun and exciting year.  Please feel free to contact me through email or by phone if questions or concerns arise.  I look forward to sharing this Third Grade year with all of you!
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Enjoying your children,

Mrs. McDonald