Dear Third Grade Parents,

I hope you are all enjoying the last few hours of a relaxing weekend.  I know I am.  It is going to be a busy week in third grade as we prepare to finish up our lessons and and gear up for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  I know the students are looking forward to a whole week of family fun and entertainment.  I cannot wait to hear all of their stories when we return.  Until then, there is a little bit of school work to wrap up.

With the shortened week due to Parent-Teacher Conferences, I am posting a condensed curriculum update.  I can honestly say I am going to try my best to cover as many subject areas as we can, but I cannot make any promises.  I do know the third graders and I will be covering the subjects of religion, reading and math every day.  I am hoping to cover Social Studies and Science every other day.  Please look over this week's Curriculum Update and as always, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.

Curriculum Update for the Week of November 18, 2013:

Religion:  Continue Chapter 6- The Liturgical Calendar and the celebrating the life of Jesus Christ

Reading:  Continue to read and discuss the story, "The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring";  Reading Comprehension test on Wednesday;  Read and discuss Thanksgiving Day themed picture books

Math:  Telling Time; Time Before and After the Hour; Adding and Subtracting Time; Solving Word Problems Involving Time

Social Studies:  Continue to learn about Native Americans and their communities

Science:  Balloon puppet due Tuesday;  Continue Chapter 6:  Classifying Plants

Spelling:  Test tomorrow!!;  No test on Friday

I would like to thank Mrs. Steele for coming in this week to be our Secret Reader.  The third graders and I learned so much about eating smart and making sure we eat healthy snacks.  Mrs. Steele read the picture book, The Bernstein Bears and Junk Food.  It was a great way to learn how to take care of ourselves and our bodies. Thank you, Mrs. Steele!

I am looking forward to meeting with all of you this week during Parent-Teacher Conferences.  It will be a pleasure to sit with all of you and discuss the academic and social growth of each of your children. Until then, have a fantastic week and thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy a fabulous place to learn!  Take care and God bless!  Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin

Your Thankful Third Grade Teacher

Happy Veteran's Day!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to Mrs. Ornelas who came in last Friday as our Secret Reader.  She did an amazing job reading in Spanish and translating the story, "The Emperor's New Clothes" by having the students act it out.  It was a fantastic experience and the class truly enjoyed the time.  Thank you, Mrs. Ornelas!

Here is this week's Curriculum Update!

Curriculum Update for the Week of November 11, 2013:


Religion:  Chapter 5 Quiz Thursday!  Begin Chapter 6- The Church Year and the Liturgical Calendar

Math:  Metric units of liquid volume;  Customary units of weight and metric units of mass;  Solving word problems involving liquid volume and mass; Telling time

Reading:  Read and discuss the story, "The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring";  complete comprehension activities and go over selection vocabulary- crops, decorated, vacant, mound, patch;  Comprehension quiz on Friday
Continue in guided reading groups and read, Who Was Johnny Appleseed  and Who Was King Tut

Science:  Classifying plants- flowering plants and non flowering plants

Social Studies:  Review Chapter 2;  Begin Chapter 3- Native Americans and their communities

Grammar:  Contractions; Vocabulary Workshop:  Unit 2 test Friday

****Due to the shortened week, the Spelling test will be next Monday!!!!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!  Take care and God bless.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy a fabulous place to learn.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Curriculum Update

Dear Third Grade Parents,

I cannot believe it is already November!!!!  Where has the time gone?!?!  I am just astounded by the fact that time is flying by and the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations are literally just around the corner.  These are exciting times ahead and I am looking forward to sharing the days leading up to the holidays with my third graders.  I have some fun and exciting ideas up my sleeves and I cannot wait to share them with you….!!!

In the mean time, I absolutely must thank Mrs. Calva-Ortiz for organizing our class Dia de Los Muertos celebration.  What a fantastic time had by all.  Thank you to all of her assistants as well.  All of you made the day special and quite memorable.  I should have pictures of the altar and an "action" shot just as soon as I am able to upload them.

****  Just a small request:  Parents, if your child has a particular food allergy or special dietary needs, could you please send in a ziplock bag of special snacks for your child to have during our class celebration times.  I want to make certain students do not feel left out during these fun times.  Thank you so very much!

Here is this week's Curriculum Update as we begin the 2nd quarter of the school year.

Curriculum Update for the Week of November 4, 2013

Religion:  Finish Chapter 5- the ancestors of our faith: examples of holiness;  Review Chapter 5 key terms and points- martyrs, Gospels, apostles and saints;  Chapter 5 Quiz on Friday

Math:  Continue to review multiplication  and division facts; Unit 2 Review; Test on Wednesday;  Begin Unit 3:  units of measurement

Reading:  Continue guided reading groups- Who Was Johnny Appleseed group:  read and discuss chapters 2-4;  Who Was King Tut group:  read and discuss chapters 2-5;  Whole group reading story, "The Legend of Damon and Pythias"; discuss and complete comprehension exercises

Vocabulary Workshop:  Finish Unit 2;  This week's spelling list will be the vocabulary words from unit 2;  Vocabulary Unit 2 test next Monday

Grammar:  Continue complete subjects and complete verbs; Begin Direct Objects

Social Studies:   Continue reading about and discussing ways to care for our resource and how to protect them

Science:  Review of Simple and compound machines;  Begin Chapter 3- How do plants change-  Discuss and complete pinto bean experiment

I hope all of you have a fantastic week and enjoy the new fall-like weather.  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy a great place to learn!  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms.  Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Happy Fall!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Praise the Lord, the ITBS Tests are officially over!  I am so proud of our hard working third graders.  It was a hard working two weeks, but I am certain it will pay off and allow us to see our areas for growth and our areas of strengths.  I will be sending the results home just as soon as we receive them.

This week will be a "normal" work week in that aside from our special "All Saints' Day Mass and Parade" on Friday, our day to day academic schedule will resume to include all subjects.  I am looking forward to being back on track and digging in before the big holiday rush.  With that being said, please take a look at this week's Curriculum Update to get an idea of what we are learning in Third Grade.

Curriculum Update for the Week of October 28, 2013:

Religion:  Begin Chapter 5- The Apostles lead the Church;  The Disciples of Jesus share the Good News; How the followers of Jesus stand up for their faith;  Saint Report is due this Friday

Math:  Making sense of two step word problems; Multiplying with multiples of Ten; Review of multiplication and division facts; focus on mathematical practices; Building fluency with 0's-10's multiplication/division facts

Reading:  Review reading story, "Team Mates", a story about Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese;  Comprehension Test on Wednesday

Language Arts:  Complete Subjects and Complete Verbs; Direct Objects; Writing:  My Favorite Time of Year- personal narrative; Vocabulary Workshop:  Completing the Sentence and Word Associations- Unit 2 Test next Wednesday;  Spelling Unit 6 Test on Friday- The list will be sent home on Monday to allow for the students to prepare and practice using their words.

Social Studies:  Junior Achievement Class #2 with Mrs. Tejeda on Monday;  Continue Chapter 2- our changing environment; Caring for our resources and ways to protect them

Science:  Finish Chapter 2 and review simple and complex machines; Review the concepts of technology and the design process

Finally, I would like to give a big thank you to this week's Secret Reader, Max's very own bodyguard, aka, his dad- Mr Goldman.  The class had a fantastic time listening to him read three very sweet and funny picture books- "The Story Blanket", "The Boss Baby", and "Mustache Baby".  The class also enjoyed creating a fun project with the baby pictures they brought in.  I won't spill the beans as our fabulous room mom is busy creating a group display of these fun looking photos.  I cannot wait to see it!

Well, that is all for now.  Don't forget, this Friday is All Saints' Day!  The school will attend mass on Friday and have the annual parade of saints.  Please be sure to come and join us for this special celebration.  

Have a fantastic week!  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  I feel so blessed and fortunate to be a part of this community.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,

Ms. Griffin

Your Third Grade Teacher

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

Happy Columbus Day!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Happy Columbus/ Discoverer's Day!  I trust everyone enjoyed the extended holiday weekend and enjoyed some much needed time off as we head into a busy week for our third graders.  

Tomorrow is the beginning of ITBS Testing and it will continue throughout the next two weeks.  With this in mind, I am trying to scale back the weekly lesson plans and keep things light as the students will need all of their mind power and energy to do well on the tests.  The ITBS Tests do not count toward the report card grades, but they are an excellent way for us to assess their progress.  The results of these tests are a tool to guide the path for the school year and to "see" the third graders' individual strengths and areas for growth.  This is why I cannot stress enough how important it is for each student to be in attendance every day while testing is occurring.  Thank you for your assistance and support in this matter.  Remember, should you have any questions or concerns with regards to these tests, please do not hesitate to contact me.

As I said above, this week will be a scaled back version of what we normally cover during a week in third grade.  For this very reason, I will not be posting a Curriculum Update for this week.  Just know, the third graders and I will be studying Religion every day as well as Math, particularly multiplication/division facts.  Reading, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science will be alternating throughout the days ahead.  There will still be nightly spelling homework as well as a test this Friday.

Lastly, The Third Graders received the format for their Saints' Day Report.  It will be due on November 1st.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week of fall time fun.  I love this time of year and I am looking forward to squeezing in some fun fall themed educational activities throughout the coming days.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy a fantastic place to learn!  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Happy Sunday!  I trust all of you had a fantastic weekend and enjoyed your family time together.  I know I did and I am ready for another week of learning and laughter.

Just a quick reminder, last Friday was the deadline for turning in your deposit of $15.50 for the third grade field trip to the Old Globe's production of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  Unfortunately there are still a few families who have not turned their deposit in.  If you still need to turn your's in, please do so ASAP to ensure their is a spot available for your third grader.  This is an experience I do not want anyone to miss out on.  Thank you!

Don't forget, this week begins the Scholastic Book Fair in the school library! There is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy!

Here is this week's Curriculum Update!

Curriculum Update for the Week of October 7, 2013:

Religion:  Begin Chapter 4- The Christian Church begins;  Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit; The Church begins on Pentecost; The early Church grows; The story of Saul and how he became Paul; Guidelines for a short "Saint Report" goes home this Thursday.

Math:  Continue Unit 2-  Solve area word problems; Multiply and divide by 8;  Write word problems and equations;  Multiply and divide by 7;  Square numbers;  Quick quiz this week on multiplying by 6, 5 and 4.

Reading:  Continue guided reading groups:  Bunnicula  Group will read and discuss chapters 3-5;  43 Old Cemetery Road  Group  will read and discuss chapters 4-6;  Finish reading and discussing whole group reading story, "Rugby and Rosie"  Comprehension test on Wednesday;  Continue read-aloud of Judy Moody  and complete comprehension activities

Language Arts:  Grammar- Imperative sentences;  Review prepositions;  Vocabulary Workshop:  Begin Unit 2- Introduce vocabulary words and their definitions;  Match the meaning

Science:  Begin Chapter 2-   Read and discuss what is technology and  what is a machine

Social Studies:  Begin Chapter 2-  Read and discuss the life and work of John Muir;  Natural resources on the land, inside the Earth and the importance of water;  Daily Geography and a review of map skills

Looking Ahead:
Please remember, on Tuesday, October 15th, the third graders will begin the Iowa standardized testing. Please make every effort not to schedule any vacations or medical/dental appointments during this time or during the morning testing period.  Make-up tests can be very difficult to schedule. Thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

I hope all of you have a fantastic week.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy a great place to learn.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Blessed Third Grade Teacher