Quick Note From Coach Hecht

Students,

Remember to wear athletic shoes to PE, especially when the weather starts to change.  I’ve been reminding you at least once a week since school started, and most of you have done a good job!

Thank you,

Coach Hecht

Reminder: Diorama is Due October 10th

Diorama Rubric

	Yes	No
1. The shoe box is the appropriate size: 12" x 9" (no boot boxes)
2. The diorama includes accurate animals for my life zone, including my research animal.
3. The diorama includes accurate plants and trees for my life zone.
4. The diorama includes accurate ground cover.
5. The diorama includes a background appropriate to the life zone.
6. The scene in the diorama is an accurate picture of the life zone.
7. The outside of the box is covered or painted in an attractive way.
8. The items in the diorama are neatly and attractively labeled and resemble a museum diorama.
9.  The diorama reflects thoughtful and careful work.
10. The diorama is turned in on time.

Comments:

Spanish Field Trip

The students had a fun and educational experience at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market this week!  A special thank you to Señora James for planning and leading this great field trip.

Click here for pictures!

First Day of Fall

Today we read Fall Mixed Up by Chad Cameron, and the children traced leaves and wrote poetry outside.  It was a beautiful first day of fall!

Sharing

Sharing is part of each Morning Meeting!  It is a wonderful time for students to learn more about one another.  In our class, sharing looks very different from the normal "show and tell" where a child might bring in a toy they really like.  Our sharing time is dedicated to learning about the sharer, so what they bring in should teach us something about him/her.

The children sign up on a calendar (they can sign up once every two weeks) and they are responsible for sharing on their sign-up day.  Sometimes they forget, which is always fine, and other times students choose to switch days with someone else.  We are flexible and this is a fun, relaxing time, so a forgotten share day is never a big deal.

Some examples of sharing include family pictures, a vacation souvenir, playing piano, bringing in an instrument to play, singing (buddy sharing is a fun idea!), dancing, a short Keynote presentation on a family pet, and trophies/medals for sports.

Phillip played piano for us today!

Edited 9/23/14:  Bryce played piano for us the following day, so I thought I'd add this video, too!

Edited 10/1/14:  Ty (yesterday) and Neela (today) played piano for the class.  These will be the last two piano videos for awhile.  :)

Buddies

We had our first buddy activity today!  The third and seventh graders interviewed one another and had a wonderful time learning about their buddies.

Our Class Buddy List:
Click here for pictures of each buddy pair!

Ty C.	Aiden
Charlotte	Anna
Bryce	Jack
EY	Wyatt
Walker	Hails
Caroline	Marie
Estella	Marthaly
Phillip	Henry
Nina	Julia
Chloe	Carmen
Bricin	Lulu
Neela	Arisela
Sam	Matthew
Marco	Jack
Julian	Paul
Charlotte	Christine
Sami Y.	Ellie H.
Addie Z.	Annie M.

September Newsletter

What an exciting month our third graders are experiencing. In every aspect of the curriculum learning is happening.  From building our community though Responsive Classroom to researching Colorado life zones, we are hard at work.

In math, we’ve been reviewing place value and extending our understanding of our number system.  We’ve also spent some time on graphing, gathering data, and talking about ways we can record it.  Moby Max practice in the classroom and at home will reinforce and grow automaticity with math facts and provide practice and challenge in other math areas.

During the last two weeks, we have been conducting reading assessments, using a new tool, Fountas and Pinnell, to find reading levels for both instructional and independent reading. The students already know "The Rule of Thumb” for figuring out whether a book is just right for them, but this online tool will help confirm it.  Your child may actually be able to decode the words, but not understand the content of a book.  “Just Right” books should be used for the daily 15/5 assignments as well for Repeated Oral Reading.

Instructions for using Typing Pal went home in the Back to School Night Folder, and are also on the blog in the post below.  This year Typing Pal will be done in library, but students will gain prowess by following up with home practice.

Our Writing Workshop during this unit focuses on writing personal narratives. We are learning how to use details to enhance stories. One game you might play to help this skill is to say a noun and see how many descriptive adjectives your student can attach to that noun. We are also exploring kinds of sentences, compound words, subjects and predicates, and more.

During social studies, students have been researching Colorado life zones in small groups. They have selected a specific life zone and an animal for their Life Zone Project, which will come home this week. Technology will figure importantly in this unit.  After September 19^th, ask your child what they know about Google Slides!

Third grade has just climbed Chief Mountain. Our students are  climbing a mountain of independence and responsibility.  Parents and teachers are essential for supporting the journey, but students must accept the challenges they meet with positive attitudes, and perseverance.  In third grade, “museum quality work” is our expectation. We are a team!

Typing Pal Directions

Go to:  http://school.typingpal.com

1. Add this page to your Bookmarks or Favorites. 

2. Click “Typing Pal School Login”

3. Use the “Existing User Log in”

4. The Institution code is GralandC

5. Using the “Existing User Log in” enter the student’s information.
Username = firstnamelastname (ex. suesmith)  Password = graland

6. Click “Log In”.

7. Practice with good technique for 10-15 minutes.

8. Be sure to “Exit” when you are finished. (upper right hand corner) 

Spanish Field Trip

On Wednesday, Sept. 24th, our class heads out to the Cherry Creek Farmer’s Market for a Spanish field trip. This trip is organized and run by Christi James, your child’s spanish teacher.  We will leave at 10:30 and return by 11:30 to school. Students do not need to bring anything. Señora James will provide a few dollars for each child to spend at the market. They will purchase their produce with vendors using spanish conversation. Faculty will chaperone this brief trip. Every year the students love how they can use their spanish language skills to purchase vegetables and fruit. It’s a wonderful way for students to apply their spanish language skills in real life! Please do not send extra money with your child. We look forward to a great trip down the hill to the market tomorrow!  

If you have any questions about this Spanish field trip, please contact Christi James (CJames@graland.org).

Chief Mountain Pictures

What an AMAZING day we had together!  We conquered Chief Mountain and had so much fun doing it.  Click here for pictures from our great field trip.

I Like to Move It!

A fun Friday activity - Freeze Dance!

Chief Mountain Rescheduled

The decision has been made to reschedule ALL classes to hike Chief Mountain this coming Monday, September 15^th. The recent wet weather has left the mountain muddy and snowy, and not ideal for the children’s experience. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but excited to be able to hike with the whole grade altogether on Monday. Please make sure your child is packed by Sunday night and ready to go on Monday, 9/15. Thank you for your support.

Today your students learned about cairns and they each wrote their own story about a cairn.  Ask your child to tell you about their story and explain the purpose of cairns.

Back to School Night

Click here to view a video of our students welcoming you to Back to School Night!

Chief Mountain

The annual third grade class trips to Chief Mountain are coming up soon, and we are very excited about them.  Two classes will hike each trip day. (See the schedule below for the day that your child’s class will hike.) 

We will leave school by Graland school bus at 8:15 on the day of the trip, and after a brief stop at Bergen Park, we should arrive at the trailhead around 10 a.m.  The majority of our time will be spent hiking Chief Mountain.  We will hike in small groups consisting of 3-4 children and one adult.  This will allow us to keep a close eye on all of the children along the route.  It is a three-plus mile round-trip hike with approximately 1000 feet of elevation gain.  We will have lunch on the summit and then begin our descent.  We plan to return to Graland in time for dismissal at 3:10.

Because the weather at this time of year can be highly unpredictable, your child must be adequately prepared and appropriately dressed! Please refer to the packing checklist of required items.  Your child’s signed packing checklist due date is below.

• Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Stretz Classes

Signed packing checklist due:                Tuesday, Sept. 9th

Chief Mountain Hike:                                Wednesday, Sept. 10th

• Mrs. O’Connor and Mrs. Pease Classes

Signed packing checklist due:                Wednesday, Sept. 10th

Chief Mountain Hike:                                Thursday, Sept. 11th

Chief Mountain Packing Checklist

Backpack (large enough to hold all supplies, but manageable for child to carry)

2 full water bottles

Warm hat (that covers ears)

Lightweight, warm jacket

Long pants (no shorts)

Thick, warm socks

Hiking boots or sturdy tennis shoes (no Crocs, rain boots, or Keds)

Mittens or gloves

Ziploc trash bag (to carry out trash)

Some toilet paper and Kleenex in Ziploc bag

Optional items:

• Baseball caps 
• Sunscreen
• Chapstick
• Raincoat/poncho
• Scarf (if it’s a cold day)
• Camera

Picture Day Information

Our class will be taking class and individual pictures on Thursday, Sept. 18th (E day) at 12:15.  The order forms will be coming from the office and I will send them home once I receive them.

Reading Assessments

We are off to a great start!  Now that your child has had time to get settled in his or her new classroom, we will be starting our beginning of the year reading assessments.  I want you to know that our reading specialists, Kristin Newman and Jacqueline Purdy-Davis, will be helping us to complete the assessments in a timely manner.  Some of these assessments are done in a whole class setting and some are done one-on-one.  These assessments are done at the beginning of every year so that we can identify your child’s reading strengths and to guide classroom instruction.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Assessment results will be shared with you during parent-teacher conferences in October.