Hello everyone,
We had a busy week last week.
Ask your child to retell any of these books we read while the children were snacking. All had an important lesson to be learned.

In Math, we continue to look at Data Management and Number Sense. Take a look at one of our first Math Talks.

Ask your child what the 2 green lines are for in our bar graph construction.

In Science, we are building upon what we already know about structures. The purpose of last week's investigation was to see how we could make our structure more sturdy. Each attempt the students only had two styrofoam cups, one piece of paper and the blocks which acted as the load.

We will usually do Art every Wednesday afternoon this term. Can you pick out your child's masterpiece?

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER....

• Homework books are coming home Monday. Please take a moment to read the instructions on the inside cover.
• Spelling books are also coming home Monday. Please take a moment to read the instructions on the inside cover.
• Special lunches Toppers(pizza and Subway) can be purchased using cash online. Write me a note in your child's agenda if you wish to have a paper copy to send back to school instead.
• Terry Fox Walk Thursday September 29th at 9:00 am.
• Our class is responsible for preparing the Thanksgiving Day mass which will be on Tuesday October 4th at 10:15 am. All are welcome.
• There is a Family Fun Math Night planned for Thursday October 6th. More details to follow.
• Always check the St. Rita website/calendar for the most recent updates too.

Hello Everyone,
Thanks to those who were able to make it to the Program Night last Thursday. For those who couldn't, check your child's agenda for two handouts outlining both the French and English subject deliveries plus a brief explanation of the routines in our class. One question that was posed that night was what is EQAO exactly and where can I find more information about it? I am including the website which will hopefully answer these questions BUT bear in mind, the sample questions and answers that I encourage you to look at are intended for a student who has completed the majority of the third grade curriculum. I will be using many of these type questions when our class is wrapping up the unit on any particular learning strand. The website is www.eqao.com  The STUDENT PORTAL on the St. Rita website also contains lots of information regarding safe websites and programs that your child is able to use to consolidate his/her learning.

Many say a picture is worth a thousand words. Please view the photos below and see them as a starting point to ask your child questions about what has been going on in class.

                                     Last week's read alouds while the students eat snack.

In Math, we constructed a class pictograph. The grade 3 expectation for conclusions is to compare one set of data to another set of data.

The class is also learning about place value and exploring the different ways to represent a number.

In Language, the class has been practising "Read to Someone" and "Working with Words" as 2 of the 5 components of the Daily 5.

 We have also been working on the reading/writing from called RECOUNT. This has also led us very nicely into what it takes to make a good paragraph.

Our first unit in Science is on structures. Ask your child which tube fell first and why? The students were asked to build a structure, then go back and make it a more stable structure by looking at the base.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER..............

• Earphone/earbuds are needed by every student for the "Listen to Reading" component of the Daily 5. Dollar Store type ones do the trick and will be kept for your child's use only in his/her reading box.
• Spill proof water bottles are encouraged in the classroom as we have no water supply in the port-a-pack.

WELCOME TO OUR CLASS BLOG

Our first days of school were spent getting to know our new classroom community and the new routines of Grade 3B.

One of our routines is to listen to a book being read out loud (read alouds) while the students are snacking at morning and afternoon recess. As you can see by the photo of the books, a lot of time was spent discussing our feelings about coming back to school. The common thread throughout the read alouds was to persevere through challenging times and to realize that trying something challenging and making a mistake is better than not trying at all.

Another of our class routines is a reading strategy called The Daily 5.  The first step of The Daily 5 is to be able to read to yourself independently and efficiently. This will be described in more detail during our Program Night. Here is a photo on the anchor chart that reminds the students what is expected.

We have spent our math block reviewing what we already know about (schema) Data Management. We have also spent some time understanding the routines and and expectations of our to conduct ourselves during collaborative and group activities such as math games.

A FEW REMINDERS.......

• Everyone needs to have indoor shoes at school.
• Program Night is Thursday September 15th at 6:00pm.
• Fire drill practice Friday September 16th.

Have a great week. I know we will.