Dear Third Grade Parents,

Happy Sunny Saturday!  What a beautiful fall weekend we are having… I love living in San Diego!  We are truly blessed in more ways than one, that's for sure.

Last week's ITBS Testing went well, but I know the class and I will be thrilled when it will all be over. The students are handling it like champs though.  This week will be the final wrap-up and if all goes well, the class and I should be done with testing on Wednesday morning.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we go in for the final stretch.

This week will contain a little more class content so, I am posting a Curriculum Update for this week.  Please note, that we may not be able to cover all of the areas or topics that I am posting in the update.  You may see them again next week as I do not want to overload the students (and myself).

Curriculum Update for the Week of October 21, 2013:

Religion:  Finish Chapter 4; Study Guide review; Chapter 4 quiz on Friday

Reading:  Continue in Guided Reading Groups and finish individual group novels of Bunnicula and 43 Old Cemetery Road;  Read and discuss the story "Teammates"- The Story of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese;  Introduce reading vocabulary words- exist, extraordinary, apathetic, intimidate, experiment, and humiliate

Language Arts:  Review prepositions, compound subjects and compound verbs

Vocabulary Workshop:  Continue introduction to Unit 2 words; Complete the sentence and Match the Meaning

Math:  Continue to drill and review multiplication facts and building fluency with 0's-10's; Equations and Word Problems; First Step Questions for Two Step Problems

Social Studies:  Map skills;  Urban and Suburban Communities

Science:  What is a Machine?  Define Simple Machines and Complex Machines and how they are used today and in the past

This week the third grade class will continue to work on their first Art Literacy project.  Thank you to Mrs. Daly and Mr. Fretwell for giving so much of their time to get this project started.  I cannot wait to see the finished product.  Thank you to all of the amazing parent volunteers who came to help last Monday.  I am just so grateful for the active participation of the third grade parents.  You are amazing!

Speaking of parent volunteers, I also wish to thank Mrs. Miranda for being our Secret Reader for the week of October 11th.  The class enjoyed writing and drawing pictures about what they hope to be when they "grow up".  It was a lot of fun to listen to their dreams.

This week, the Third Grade Class enjoyed listening to Mrs. Bokhari read two trickster tales from the Pacific Northwest and from Hawaii.  She even threw in two class favorites, Skippy Jon Jones… Mummy Trouble and Puff The Magic Dragon.  The class and I had a terrific time!  Thank you, Mrs. Bokhari!  We especially enjoyed your Skippy Jon Jones voice!

Last, but certainly not least, another thank you must go out to Mrs. Miranda for starting the Third Grade Junior Achievement Program.  This week's lesson tied in perfectly with our Social Studies unit on Communities.  It was a fantastic presentation and I know the week's to come will garner some great discussions.

Phew… As you can tell, last week was VERY busy in third grade, but it was also a great week of learning and smiles all around.  Thank you, parents for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy a great place to learn.  It truly is a group effort!  Have a fantastic week.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,

Ms. Eileen Griffin

Your Blessed Third Grade Teacher