And with that, we bring September to a close! I must admit, I am always a bit relieved when September comes to a close. By this time, the students and I seem to have found our "groove" and have gotten adjusted to the new school year routine. Now we can begin to run like a finely tuned machine!
Our class store opened today, thanks to the generosity of many parents! The variety of tempting products really motivates the kids to keep up with positive behavior and earn more O'Bucks. Students took their first math test which should be coming home to you next week. The good news is they really DO seem to understand the math concepts. The bad news is they don't read test questions thoroughly enough quite yet. We'll work on that! Our homecoming parade is tonight, weather permitting. Meet in the Harvest Bible Chapel parking lot at 5:45. Go Lakers! The students and I have stent lots of time discussing the importance of reading time. I am happy to report I can already see improvements in many reading skills since returning from summer. I will begin assessing skills this coming week. Info is still forthcoming for classroom volunteers. I promise! Important dates:
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The third week of third grade has come to a close. The excitement and newness of the year seems to be waning. How can I tell? I have been hearing a lot more of "My (fill in the blank) hurts." I realize it's tempting to say to your child, "If you feel worse later, you can come home." Please understand: If you tell your child this, they will always, ALWAYS feel worse. As hard as it can be, please try to trust me when I say this: If your child gets legitimately sick during the day, WE WILL CONTACT YOU TO COME PICK THEM UP. Promise! Believe it or not, our first unit in math will come to a close this coming week. Students will prepare for an in class assessment soon. Don't worry. They're not expected to know multiplication facts YET, just the concepts behind multiplying and dividing. We will review and I am confident everyone will do fine. Finally, please know that I am aware reading logs can be a pain in the neck. I have explained to the students that these logs are an essential tool for me to ensure that the students are reading books at their level. I am very much appreciative of your efforts to help your child accurately record their reading time. I am getting ready to welcome parents into the room to assist. Look for that information before the first of October. Hope to see you all at the open house on Sunday! Upcoming dates:
We have made it through the first 5 day week of school. Together. Go Team Ortquist!!!
This week we began keeping diligent track of our daily reading with our reading logs. Please know that this should become a (week)nightly ritual. I will not require logs to be kept over the weekend. These logs are a basis for the reading conferences I have each day with individual students, so they are very important to me. I appreciate your efforts in making sure they get returned to school each day. We have slowly begun to work with our newest math curriculum. The common core methods of teaching math might seem foreign, I know. Google and YouTube are very helpful when you are struggling to figure out these new ways of understanding 3rd grade math. You should have received an email from me today requesting you sign up for an app called "Seesaw." This is brand new to me, but I hear great things about this communication tool. Essentially it is a sort of online, digital place for your child to present their learning. We will be learning about this new tool together. I'm excited!!!! Upcoming dates:
As a full-time working mother, please know that I empathize with all of you that this week was perhaps best described as CRAZY! Emails, forms, checks, lunches, homework, meetings..............oh my. So, yeah, I get it. I promise this will not only become just part of the new routine, it will probably even slow down. A bit.
Please, please continue to sign your child's planner every day. I feel this is an important tool that your child can use to become an organized student. I would encourage you (if you have not already done so) to look over the "Class Policies" page of this website. It will give you insight into what to expect when it comes to homework, etc. Remember that your child is to be reading minimally 20-30 minutes every day at home. That includes weekends and holidays (sorry). Research indicates children should read for 90 minutes a day to stay on grade level (more than 90 if they are below grade level). Most of that reading time is done in school, but not all. We spent much of this week thinking of ways that we can "make reading the best it can be." Ask your child what their thoughts are on how they can do this themselves and how you can help at home! |
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