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Third Grade Handbook Third Grade Homework Policy Together, your child and I will be covering a tremendous amount of material. As such, homework plays an integral role in helping us all achieve the ambitious goals we will set for this year. Students will have homework and reading every night. The goal for homework is to reinforce the lessons taught during the school day. When students work hard and complete their assigned work, we can focus each day on covering new and exciting material. The purpose of this policy is to help everyone understand homework procedures and expectations. Throughout the year, students will be required to complete projects and extended assignments at home. You will always be informed well in advance when these assignments are done. Third graders should have approximately 20-30 minutes of homework every day and approximately 20 minutes each night of at-home reading which needs to be logged in the reading folder with a parent signature. This reading log will be checked weekly by the teacher or the instructional assistants. The assignment books will be in their binder which will come home Monday through Thursday. Your child should complete all work assigned for that day and return it with the assignment notebook which is in the binder. I am asking parents to review the completed homework each night, and correct any errors with your child. Your child should check off each assignment as it is completed and parents should initial the assignment notebook every night in the appropriate space. Your interest and help with schoolwork imparts a sense of value you hold for his/her studies. Homework success Child’s responsibility ☺ Check daily assignment notebook ☺ Bring home all materials ☺ Do all assignments ☺ Check off assignments when complete ☺ Return all work on the due date Parent’s responsibility ☺ Provide a time and place to work ☺ Help when needed ☺ Check for mistakes ☺ Check that all assignments are finished ☺ Sign or initial the assignment notebook If your child is unable to complete or forgot the assignment s/he will be expected to complete the assignment during recess. Sometimes the assignment will have to be completed at home. If an assignment is late the student will need to fill out an Incomplete Homework Assignment notice. This notice simply informs the parents that the student has an incomplete assignment or forgot to bring it to school. That notice, will be brought home with the student to have a parent sign and brought to school the following day along with the assignment. I realize that students get ill, extra time will always be allotted for make-up work to be turned in. I want students to be successful time managers with their homework. I encourage you to work with your child to ensure timely and neat homework. Formation of good study habits (including the regular completion of homework and the ability to meet paper and project deadlines) is important in any stage of your child’s education and I strongly recommend that a regular study time be established in your home. With so much information that comes with each school year it is important to keep everything in a safe place. Third Grade Rules CLASS RULES Our whole class will create class rules. We will talk about all the rules and give examples of each. It is the responsibility of each child to follow them. Our school rules are based on these three ideas. Respect yourself and others. Responsibility for your behavior and learning. Reverence for God and our environment. Each class (music, P.E., library, technology, and art) has additional rules that need to be followed. Each of these teachers will go over the rules at the beginning of the year. I know that third graders will be on their best cooperative behavior when they are in these classes or have a guest teacher. CONSEQUENCES Our class rules are the students responsibility. If the rules are not followed then consequences occur. This is the process I will follow. 1. Warning will be given to the student about their behavior. 2. The student will have to flip a card to yellow and miss 5 minutes of recess. 3. The student will have to flip a card to red. The student will miss recess and a note/email will be sent home. If the behavior continues: 4. A conference will be scheduled with the teacher, student, and parents to discuss behavior if behavior is consistent. 5. The student and I will meet with Mrs. Dellino regarding their behavior. 6. A blue slip will be sent home and required to be returned the following day with a parent and student signature. INCENTIVES Courtesy Cards These cards are given to student who are exhibiting the virtue of the year. They are going beyond what a typical third grader does. When they have collected five of these, they can go to the treasure box and receive a prize.
Marbles On top of Mrs. Arthur’s desk there is a marble jar with three different color lines. Each line represents a different incentive. The first line is a 10 minute extra recess, the second line is a movie and treat and the third line in a read-in. Earning marbles is a whole class reward. These are easily earned throughout the day! Marbles are never taken away. Third Grade Daily Academic Schedule
*Students will have music the second semester ** Monday’s will be on a slightly different time schedule. SIGNAL My main signal for your attention is “Give me Five”. I hold up my hand with five fingers. When you are ready with your attention, hold up your hand too. (1) Mouth-stop talking (2) Ears- ready to listen (3) Eyes-look at me (4) Hands- stop what you are doing. (5) Body-be still MORNING RESPONSIBILITIES At 8:20 students will walk into the classroom, go right to the lunch chart and make your selection. Put away your belongings, put your assignment notebook opened to the day on your desk. You will then begin your “Morning Work.” This might include reviewing math, spelling, language arts, geography, or writing. CLASS JOBS Every week the job chart will inform you if you have a job and what it is. Everyone gets a chance to help in the classroom. It is your responsibility to get the job done each day. STARS OF THE WEEK Each week a student will have the privilege to be the star of the week. A poster will go home with you the Friday before for you to fill out. You are welcome to bring 4-6 pictures in to share with the class. Since you are the super star you may bring one item to share with the class on Friday. Please see attached calendar for your week! LUNCH Students will eat in the gym unless otherwise noted. The teacher will walk the students to the gym and make sure they are properly seated. The students are asked to follow the lunch room rules and expectations. They are required to listen and follow directions from the lunch room supervisors, they are Ms. Sanderson and Mrs. King. CLASS NUMBER Each student has been assigned a class number, in alphabetical order. I use these numbers for checking work in, lining up, and recording grades. All written work needs to have this number printed on the upper right hand corner. WRITTEN WORK All written work needs to be headed as follows: Your class number will be printed in the upper right hand corner. Write your first name and initial of your last name in cursive, (after you learn how to write your name) within the first line on the upper left side. On the second line please write the complete date. The subject and the page number should be on the third line. # Class Number First Name and Last Initial Complete Date Subject and Page Number All written work will be done in complete sentences. A complete sentence begins with a capital, has a subject, a predicate, and ends with appropriate punctuation. We will spend time working with complete sentences in September. All written work will be turned in to the appropriate shelf, labeled by subject. You are responsible for finishing all assigned work. If you are unable to complete any work during class, you will need to take it home to complete. FINISHING EARLY All students are expected to have a reading book of your choice in your desk at all times. It is important that this book remain in your desk. Reading will be encouraged as a first choice should you finish early. We will develop a list of ideas, which will be posted on the wall. You are responsible to the other students in class to be respectful of their work time. If you cannot find a quiet activity, I will help. HOMEWORK Monday afternoon students will copy the homework assignments for the week that are already known. A few minutes will be spent at the end of each day to review any new assignments that were given during the day. Homework is assigned each day. Every afternoon homework folders will be checked for parent initials and for completed work. WEDNESDAY PACKETS Work for the week will come home in a folder on Wednesday afternoon. Please take a few minutes each week to go over work with your parents. This is the best way to keep your parents informed. PARENT LETTERS A parent letter will be sent home every week in the Wednesday Packets. This is the main form of communication between school and home. I will inform you of what the class participated in, and what the following week will bring. At the bottom of the letter I will inform you of important dates such as tests, quizzes, reports, field trips, etc. Please have your parent initial in the Wednesday Folder indicating your parent/guardian have read the parent letter. BOOK ORDERS I will send home book orders for different book clubs. The order and check are due back the following Friday. Please do not feel obligated to order these books. I send them home because they provide an inexpensive way for you to buy books. The selections are very good and we get free books for our classroom with every order. All checks must be written to the book company. Book orders should be delivered in a marked envelope. GRADES Third graders will be given the letter grades: O=
Outstanding S=
Satisfactory CONFERENCES This year we will have conferences October 16th and 17th. I am happy to meet with your parents any time during the year. I am available in the mornings at 7:45 or most afternoons at 3:00 (except Mondays). Please call and make an appointment, 206-232-5432 ext. 172 or email jarthur@stmonicasea.org. ABSENT SNACK You many bring a healthy snack for the morning. You eat your snack inside the classroom for about 5 minutes. BIRTHDAYS Birthdays may be celebrated by bringing a treat to share with the class at the end of the day. I request that you do not bring a cake because cake is messy and time consuming. Cupcakes are okay if you bring napkins. It is not necessary to bring a drink, but if your do, please bring cups, or individual containers. Keep it simple! Cookies or other “neat” treats are preferable. You many also send a wrapped birthday book to school with your child. The book can include a small dedication on the inside cover with your child’s name, age, and date of birth. Your child’s birthday book will be opened and shared with the entire class and also become a permanent part of the classroom library. BUDDY LUNCHES We are going to begin buddy lunches in September! To get to know your child better, I will be having a private lunch with your child. I believe it is important that there is a trust between student and teacher, and this will help provide the foundation. Please send a sack lunch if at all possible on this day to maximize our special individual time together! Please check for a calendar in the packet of papers going home on the first day, or the website.
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