Dear Third Grade Parents,

It's baaaaaaack!  That's right the heat is back.  Hopefully the weatherman is right and things will gradually cool down.  In the mean time, please continue to send a cold water bottle to school with your third grader to keep them hydrated.

Don't forget, tomorrow is the first day of the Scholastic Book Fair at SMA!  The Third Grade class will be visiting the book fair to make out a wish list or, to purchase their "must have" reading material.  I can hardly wait to go shopping myself!

Lastly, please be sure to review this week's Curriculum Update!

Curriculum Update for the Week of October 6, 2014:

Religion:  Chapter 4 Review;  Chapter 4 Quiz on Friday-  The beginning of the early church;  The Holy Spirit comes to the Disciples- Pentecost;  Students should also begin to research their saint and begin to create their Saint Report

Math:  Multiply and Divide with 8; Write word problems and equations; Multiply and divide with 7; Square numbers;  Quick quiz on multiplication facts on Thursday- 3's, 4's, 5's and 6's

Reading:  Introduction to Chris Van Allsburg author study- read and discuss, "The Widow's Broom" and "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick";  Continue to meet in guided reading groups and study the mystery genre;  Elements of a Mystery Quiz on Friday

Language Arts:  Continue to review finding the subject and verb of a sentence;  No Spelling test this week

Social Studies:  Native American Tribes of California; Where early Native Americans Lived

Science:  How plants use flowers and cones to reproduce; The life cycle of plants- flowering plants and conifer plants

Music:  Continue to learn and play the recorders; continue to learn and sing songs for SMA's 2014 Christmas Extravaganza

Art:  Finish  creating student illustrated Christmas card

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

Happy Fall!!!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

What a lovely fall weekend we had!  With a break in the warm weather and a little breeze to chill the air, I can almost taste the warm apple pie.  I love it!  Hopefully this cooler weather will last a little longer…

This coming week should be another busy one with plenty of opportunities to learn and experience new things.  Please check the Curriculum Update below to see what's in store for your eager learner.

Curriculum Update for the Week of September 29, 2014:

Religion:  Begin Chapter 4:  The Christian Church begins!  Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit; Pentecost;  The story of Saul becoming Paul

Math:  Unit 1 Review;  Unit 1 Test on Tuesday;  Multiply and divide with 6;  Solve area word problems;  Multiply and divide with 8

Grammar:  How to find the subject and verb of a sentence

Reading:  Continue guided reading groups;  Finish Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unit;  Begin focus on Mystery genre;  Introduction to author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg

Science:  Continue chapter 3:  how plants use flowers or cones to reproduce;  the life cycle of plants

Social Studies:  Communities within a state;  Begin Chapter 3:  Native American Tribes of California

Unit 5 Spelling Test on Friday

I hope everyone had a fun and entertaining night at this year's Family Fun Night.  I cannot wait to hear all about it!

Have a fantastic week.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Well, we made it!  We survived our latest summer heat wave.  Hopefully this week will continue to cool down so the third graders can learn in comfort.  Thank you for your patience last week with the two minimum days.  This week is promising to get things back on track.

Thank you, again for coming to Wednesday's Back to School Night.  It was great to see so many of you and to give you a quick snapshot of our days in the third grade.


Lastly, I would like to give a BIG thank you to Mrs. Brady who came in last Friday to work with the class in small groups during science class.  The class is conducting their first scientific experiment and we could not have done it so smoothly without Mrs. Brady's assistance.  Thank you, Mrs. Brady!!!!!  Be sure to ask your third graders all about their experiment.  We will make our second observation tomorrow to see how our beans are growing.

Well, that is all for now.  Here is a look at our upcoming week.

Curriculum Update for the Week of September 22, 2014:

Religion:  Continue Chapter 3-  Jesus has power over life and death;  His second coming;  Jesus teaches us to love one another;  Chapter 3 quiz next Tuesday

Reading:  Continue to read and discuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- ch 19-30;  Continue to meet in guided reading groups

Math:  Solve and create word problems; word problems with 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 9's;  focus on mathematical practices;  Unit 1 Review;  Unit 1 Math test next Monday

Social Studies:  California's regions; landforms of the west

Science:  Continue chapter 3-how plants use leaves to make food;  how plants use roots and stems to grow- types of stems and roots

Language Arts:   continue and finish summer writing piece;  prepositional phrases and objects of the preposition;  Spelling unit 4 test on Friday

Art:  Continue to learn about the work of author/illustrator Lois Ehlert;  Experiment with new ways to create texture with tempura paint; make an original bird collage from painted papers in the style of Lois Ehlert

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

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

I hope all of you are staying cool and comfortable this weekend.  What a summer surprise!  Please be sure to send your third grader  to school with a nice, tall and cold water bottle!  Tomorrow is sure to be hot and it is important to keep the students hydrated.


Also, this Wednesday is Back to School Night.  I will be reviewing the classroom routine and answer any questions you might have.    I will also have the sign up sheet for Parent/ teacher conferences. I hope to see you there!  If you are unable to attend, please know you are always welcome to email me with any of your questions or concerns.

In the mean time, be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update for this week's schedule of lessons, tests and Quizzes.

Curriculum Update for the Week of September 14, 2014:

Religion:  Chapter 2 Quiz on Tuesday-  faith and trust in God, the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus dies and rises to save us;  Begin Chapter 3- Jesus has power over life and death; Jesus will come again; the Corporal Works of Mercy

Reading:  Read and discuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- chapters 19-24;  Guided Reading Groups:  according to your child's group, we will continue to meet in small groups to read and discuss their novel of study.

Math:  Continue Unit 1-  Multiply and divide with 4; Multiplication and area; Review of 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, 9's and 10's times tables and division

Language Arts:  Spelling test on Friday;  Grammar:  Continue unit on prepositions;  Object of the preposition; Writing:  continue to work on summer writing piece

Social Studies:  Continue chapter 1-  California's Regions; landforms of the west

Science:  Finish Chapter 1 and begin chapter 2- How plants are classified

Art:  Focus on artist, Lois Ehlert;  Experiment with new ways to create texture with tempera paint;  make an original bird collage from painted papers in the style of Lois Ehlert

This is all for now.  Have a lovely rest of the weekend.  See you on Wednesday night.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Curriculum Update!!!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Well, we made it through our first week of full days!  The third graders did an amazing job of getting right to it and have worked hard to start the year off right.  I am so proud of them.

This coming week will be another busy week of learning.  Please be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update to see all that is in store for your student.

Curriculum Update for the Week of September 8, 2014:

Religion:  Continue to study Chapter 2- Jesus teaches about the gift of faith;  Jesus dies and rises to save us;  Chapter 2 Review and study guide;  Chapter 2 Quiz next Tuesday

Math:  Multiply and divide with 10; Write equations with variables; Multiply and divide with 9;  Building fluency with 2's, 3's, 5's, 9's and 10's;  Multiplication and division Test Friday on 2's, 3's, 5's, 9's and 10's

Reading:  Continue to read and discuss, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- chapter 13-17;  Discuss reading strategies and complete comprehension activities;

Science:   Continue Chapter 1,  Finish Lesson 2- What skills to do scientist use and how do they use them;  Lesson 3:  How do scientists answer questions?;  Lesson 4:  How scientists communicate- keep records and plan an experiment

Social Studies:  Continue Chapter 1, Finish Lesson 2- Physical features of the land;  Begin Lesson 3- Human-made features

Language Arts: (Grammar/Spelling/Vocabulary Workshop):  Begin Grammar with introduction of prepositions;  Spelling Unit 2 with a test on Friday;  Continue Vocabulary Workshop, Unit 2- Synonyms and antonyms and completing the sentence

Don't forget, there will be mass this Monday at 8:00.  Please make every effort to have your student at school on time. Thank you!  In addition, this Tuesday is our first Pizza Lunch of the 2014-2015 school year.  Be sure to send lunch with your child if you have not signed them up for pizza lunch.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, despite the heat.  Please be sure to send a water bottle with your child tomorrow in case the heat persists.  I want to make certain my third graders stay cool and hydrated as best they can.  Thank you!

Lastly,  we are in need of one more parent to come in and help the third grade class with their art.  The class has art every Wednesday at 10:45-11:30.  An extra pair of hands is always helpful when it comes to passing out supplies and answering questions.  Please let me know if you are willing and able to help.  Your time would be greatly appreciated!

Have a wonderful week and be sure to let me know should you have any questions or concerns.  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 Third Grade Teacher

Welcome Back!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Welcome back to SMA!  I am certain this will be another fantastic year of learning.  I am truly looking forward to becoming better acquainted with all of you and your children.

Thank you to all of you who were able to attend last week's Meet the Teacher Night.  The excitement and enthusiasm of the children was contagious and I can see how motivated they are to get their third grade year off to a great start.

If you were unable to attend last week's event, no problem!  Be sure to stop by the third grade classroom sometime this week so I can introduce myself to you.

Lastly, if you have not turned in your classroom supplies, please do so by the end of this week.  The children and I really count on your donations of paper, post-its and most importantly, tissue to get us through the  year.  Your kindness and generosity are most appreciated.

Until next week, please be on the look out for the Third Grade Information Packet that outlines all of the classroom policies and procedures.  It will be sent home tomorrow, Monday, August 25th.

I hope all of you have a wonderful first week back to school.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

I can hardly believe we are entering our final week of the 2013-2014 school year.  Time has certainly flown by as it literally seems just like yesterday that I was meeting all of you for the very first time.  I am in shock and a bit sad to be saying goodbye so soon.  This has been an amazing year and it is one I will remember forever.  I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for the third graders and most especially for me.  Your kindness and support have made all the difference.

I know the third graders are ready to cross over to the Senior Yard, but a part of me still wants to hold on to them just a little while longer.  I can only imagine how you, their parents, feel about this major milestone.  Please know, that even though you and your student have passed the third grade, I will always be available to you/them to lend a hand or to lend a thoughtful ear. Once a student enters my classroom, they are always one of my kids.  That's just the way it is!

I will not be posting a Curriculum Update for this week as we will continue to review and wrap up some of the chapters we have been working on.  Of course, there will not be any tests or quizzes this week as well.  Yahoo!!!

Be on the lookout for Mrs. Goldman's Weekly Email Update for this week's schedule of events.

Thank you, again for an amazing year of support and kindness.  I feel blessed and honored to be a part of your child's life and their Catholic education.  Have a safe and restful summer!  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher