3rd Grade News

Welcome to the August 25th edition of Third Grade News!

I'm excited to share this weekly newsletter with you to build our home-school connection and to keep you informed about what's happening at school. Links will be sent weekly or as this newsletter's content is updated. Typically I will send this out on Mondays.

B e sure to read Mrs. Bauer's weekly Smore newsletter, too.

In this photo, we are doing our annual first-day "cheers" with Jitter Juice to get rid of any "jitters!"

Thanks for reading!

Last week we had three special days - Monday was Literacy Day, Wednesday was Math Day, and Friday was STEM Day. The 3rd-grade teachers rotated to each classroom and shared a book, did a project, or played a game with each class. Please download the Cluster app and join our group to see pictures of our fun!

• Did you sign up for our class REMIND group? This allows me to text out info rather than email, making it perfect for quick reminders or updates. Just text the message "@kincer2" to the number 81010 to join!
• Please sign up for our FUN RUN - it's our big fall fundraiser and we need everyone's help.
• If your child does not have a pair of headphones or earbuds at school, please send some in as soon as possible.
• Your child should be reading 20 minutes every night. This can be reading alone, reading to you, reading to a sibling, or you and your child reading together. If s/he needs books to read at home, have him/her check some out from our classroom library. Thanks for helping us to build our reading stamina!!
• Please sign the assignment notebook nightly.
• We don't go to lunch until noon, so a healthy snack for mid-morning is very much appreciated. Also, water bottles are a must this year with our water fountains shut off currently until the water-bottle filling stations are installed. Please be sure the lids close tightly and that the bottle is labeled with your child's name.
• Make sure your child's lunchbox and masks have his/her name on them, please.
• Remember, breakfast is served daily - please arrive by 7:45 to allow time to eat.

• This week is week one of our 2-week ELA cycle in our Wonders series. We're working on sequence of events. Generally, the texts we use at school are read at school only. However, your child has online access to these at home through Canvas. All skills and vocabulary words are listed on the weekly ELA newsletter we send home (in your child's folder in a plastic sleeve specifically labeled for this purpose) each Friday.
• We're working on setting goals for this quarter's AR program. Ask your child to think about the points earned at the end of 2nd grade and to consider working toward a greater point goal. Schoolwide our comprehension goal is 85% accuracy.

Please see the weekly ELA newsletter (sent home each week on Friday) found in your child's S'MORE folder for the list of words. Spelling tests will always be on Thursdays. The spelling tests consist of 20 multiple choice questions in which students have to choose the word that is spelled correctly and makes sense in the sentence. This format mirrors what students will see on IREAD in the spring. Please follow the link at the end of this newsletter to practice words on Spelling City.

For the first few weeks in Wonders Grammar we will also focus on what makes a sentence complete, the parts of a sentence, and types of sentences. The weekly grammar skills are listed on the ELA newsletter, too. We'll be learning about exclamatory and imperative sentences - to complete our suite of four sentence types (interrogative and declarative) in the coming two weeks.

In writing, we are currently spending our writing time on our "launch" for our writing program. We're learning about why writers write, and what is the students' job and the teacher's job during writing time. We will begin discussing the 6 traits and will create a couple of resources filled with a plethora of writing ideas.

All classes are beginning working on Lesson 8-a (Reading, Writing, and Comparing Four-Digit Numbers), learning about standard form, expanded form, word form, and comparing numbers.

Now is the time to get those flashcards back out from 2nd grade - we'll be breezing through the addition and subtraction lessons fairly quickly in September and knowing the math facts with "automaticity" will serve your child daily in 3rd grade and in life. If you need flashcards, please let me know. Also, if your child uses any particular websites or apps to practice, please let me know and I'll compile a list to share.

Daily

8:00 Math

10:00 Recess

10:30 Reading - Small Groups

11:00 ELA (English and Reading)

12:00 Lunch & Recess

1:30 Science or Social Studies

Weekly

Monday: 9:15 Art

Tuesday: 9:15 Religion

Wednesday: 9:15 Library; 1:00 Mindfulness

Thursday: 9:15 Tech Time; 1:00 STEAM

Friday: 9:15 Music; 1:00 Gym (please remember to have your child wear tennis shoes)

Labor Day - September 7

Picture Day - September 10

Ireland's First Annual Fun Run- September 3

Parent-Teacher Conferences - September 30 and October 7

Fall Break - October 19-23

Halloween Party - October 30

Thanksgiving Break - November 25-27

Semester 1 Ends - December 18

School Resumes - January 4

This is my 19th year at Ireland! While I've taught Kindergarten, 2nd, and 3rd grades here, third grade is my favorite, and I am excited to be in partnership with you this year! Outside of school, I love to travel, read, and spend time with family and friends. I am a collector of fonts, and I also love to connect with other educators on social media like Twitter and Instagram. Please follow us on those two platforms!

I am so blessed to walk into our classroom each day with an opportunity to guide these young folks to discover their own passions.

Email: lkincer@gjcs.k12.in.us
Website: http://ireland3rdgrade.weebly.com/
Phone: 812-482-7751
Twitter: @mrskincersclass