Welcome To Third Grade

Dear Parents, Welcome to an exciting year as a third grade parent. I am very eager to meet you & your child and am optimistic to begin the new school year. I look forward to a successful partnership with both of you in establishing a trusting and motivating learning experience at SV this year. In our classroom we will work cooperatively to create and maintain an atmosphere for success. I expect everyone to employ the three fundamental principles of Respect, Courtesy and Cooperation in all of our daily interactions. Students will be encouraged to explore, think through and question all that we undertake, while still having fun doing it. Third grade is a very important year scholastically, as it is the stepping stone beyond a student’s primary education to them becoming independent, responsible learners. One priority this year is teaching student HOW to learn, HOW to study, HOW to train themselves to be academically successful. Students will now be held accountable for independently organizing, completing and studying their classwork & homework assignments. I need your support of these expectations, and ask for you to relate to your child that you also foster and support these positive practices as necessary life skills. I recognize the importance of parent involvement in a child’s education. I firmly believe that students receive the best education possible when parents, teachers and students work together as a team; therefore I encourage your active participation. I am committed to assisting you in any way and I encourage your questions and comments. Feel free to contact me at any time at 462-2796. Your positive encouragement will be a major contribution to your child’s success this year. I’m happy to have the opportunity to be a big part of your child’s life this year and I look forward to seeing students grow & experience the joy of learning.

Mrs. Caputo

Following are several items that you should be aware of to get our school year off on the right track: NEW THIS YEAR 1. Third grade students will have the opportunity to practice many Math, Reading, and Language skills by using an innovative diagnostic and tutorial computer program called Compass Learning. Students will be assigned computer lessons specifically for their individual needs based on a pretest given at the beginning of the year. We are scheduled to work in our school’s newest computer lab three times each week. What an exciting way to drill and practice skills! 2. Mrs. Smalley is the Title I specialist that will be joining in on our class to assist with Reading. Mrs. Cicioni will be helping during Math classes daily. 3. Third grade students will be taking the first major achievement assessment of their academic careers this year, as they are now required to complete Pennsylvania’s PSSA test in the spring. SCHOOL PICTURES – Pictures for third grade students will be taken on Friday, September 11, 2009. NECESSARY SCHOOL FORMS – Student information forms, medical records for the school nurse, internet access verification & requests for free/ reduced lunches are due back to school by September 8th. Please return these ASAP, as they are necessary to confirm accurate information and connect each of our families to the new district-wide communication system we will be using this year. SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION – all students in the SV school district have been assigned a specific bus upon which to ride to and from school. If for any reason your child will not be riding his/her regular bus home from school and instead will be a “walker” (either walking home or someone will be picking him up at the front entrance to the elementary school), you must inform the school in writing in advance. If students do not have a written request and a parent cannot be reached, they must board their usual bus at dismissal. Also, students must ride on the regular bus that they’ve been assigned to. Bus stops will only be changed in the event that a student has officially moved to a new location.

Any questions regarding busing can be directed to the district’s transportation office. LUNCH PIN NUMBERS – Students are encouraged to re-memorize the lunch system pin number that has been previously assigned to them so that the lunch line moves as quickly as possible. Anyone not sure of their assigned pin numbers, please ask. These are kept on file at school. IMPORTANT DATES – Please note the following important dates in this year’s school calendar: September 7, 2009

Labor Day, No School

*October 12, 2009

Teacher’s Inservice Day

*November 25, 2009

Act 80 Day

*January 18, 2010

Teacher’s Inservice Day

February 15, 2010

President’s Day, No School

*March 5, 2010

Act 80 Day

April 2-5, 2010

Easter Break (4/1,6,7-snow make up days)

*May 28, 2010

Act 80 Day

May 31, 2010

Memorial Day, No School

*Teachers only will report on these days – no school for students. SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION – all students in the SV school district have been assigned a specific bus upon which to ride to and from school. If for any reason your child will not be riding his/her regular bus home from school and instead will be a “walker” (either walking home or someone will be picking him up at the front entrance to the elementary school), you must inform the school in writing in advance. If students do not have a written request and a parent cannot be reached, they must board their usual bus at dismissal. Also, students must ride on the regular bus that they’ve been assigned to. Bus stops will only be changed in the event that a student has officially moved to a new location. Any questions regarding bussing can be directed to the district’s transportation office.

STUDENT ABSENCES – In the event that a student is absent, parents are reminded to make arrangements to have their missed assignments either brought home by another student or picked up at the elementary office sometime later that day (arrangements can be make for pick-up by calling the office in advance at 462-2796). Upon returning from an absence, all students must bring in written verification as to the nature of the absence. Parents/Guardians may use their own hand-written excuse notes. THIRD GRADE OPEN HOUSE – Mark your calendar! Elementary “Open House” will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2009 from 6-8 PM. Please plan to attend to learn more about our classroom and curriculum. *Please note – If you have any personal concerns you want to discuss concerning your child, a personal parent/teacher conference is preferred to ensure confidentiality. Feel free to call the school office (462-2796) anytime to arrange a meeting. SV PTO – The Shenandoah Valley Elementary Parent/Teacher Organization is once again reorganizing and holding a membership campaign for the new school year. In the past, this group of very dedicated individuals has worked to raise necessary funds to provide our students with countless materials, educational equipment, playground equipment, fund yearly field trips, host educational shows etc. In addition, their monthly meetings are both informative and even entertaining. Be a real part of SV – join the PTO! They are planning to meet on the second Tuesday of each month @ 6:30 in the Elementary Library. COMMUNICATION ENVELOPES – Once again this year parents can look forward to “communicators” coming home on Thursdays. These envelopes are a means by which tests and other important messages can be relayed between school and home. Please be sure to sign envelopes, as well as any major tests and return them back to school promptly to ensure our correspondence has been received.

GRADE WEIGHTING – Final marking period grades are calculated according to the district approved grade weighting scale – 60% tests, 20% class participation (seatwork), 20% homework. HOMEWORK – Third grade students are encouraged and required to be responsible for and write down all homework assignments daily in a school issued assignment book. Parents please look for this assignment book nightly and initial it to indicate you’ve seen it. In addition, you can help monitor and encourage this practice by checking my internet blog, [email protected], view the daily homework specific to our class. SPECIAL CLASSES – Students will be participating in special classes according to the following schedule: MONDAY- Computers- Teacher TBA TUESDAY – Phys. Ed. – Mr. Murphy WEDNESDAY – Phys. Ed. – Mr. Murphy THURSDAY – Library – Mrs. Stauffer FRIDAY – Music – Mrs. Calhoun READING – Third grade focuses heavily on students reading – reading independently for meaning, vocabulary development, silent reading, oral reading, and reading for information in content areas such as science, health and social studies. Not nearly as much time is focused on phonics and phonemic awareness as in years past. This year, students are required to complete a lot more INDEPENDENTLY. Particular emphasis will be placed on oral reading fluency – the automatic recognition, rhythm, & flow of their reading. Students will be practicing one-on-one with a teacher on a regular basis to increase their oral reading rate (words per minute). We will be monitoring students’ progress by using DIBELS testings three times throughout the year (fall, winter & spring). Ideally, students entering third grade should be reading approximately 90 words per minute with as few mistakes as possible. By the end of third grade, we are striving for students to increase their reading rate to approximately 120 words/minute. Our key focus is to teach students strategies to do this, then to allow as many opportunities to practice as possible. We are counting on parents, family members and older siblings to also help by providing times for students to read out-loud to them regularly. STUDENT BOOK ORDERS – This year students will be required to keep an Individual Reading Folder highlighting selections they read outside of assigned reading class. We are trying to encourage students to CHOOSE to read books

that interest them, yet are on a level comfortable for them. Students may choose books from their own personal home libraries, Shenandoah’s free public library, our school & classroom libraries, or they may purchase them from book clubs. From time to time, students will be bringing home book club order forms. Students may purchase age appropriate books for their personal readings. Purchasing books is optional and merely offered as a convenient means of promoting reading for fun.